Class 



Book 

PRESENTED BY 



SULZER'S 

Short Speeches. 



CAREFULLY COMPILED FROM THE RECORDS 
OF CONGRESS, WITH OTHER OFFICIAL DATA 
AND A BRIEF BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 



BY 



George W. Blake 

Of the N. F. Times. 



Copyright 1912, by 
J. S. Ogilvte Publishing Company. 



New York: 
J. S. OGILYIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
57 Eose Street. 



.5* 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Biographical Sketch 7 

Record in N. Y. State Assembly 19 

Congressional Record ...... 22 

Liberty Enlightening the World 37 

Yellowstone Park 40 

Justice to the Negro Soldier 42 

Tribute to the Jews 44 

The Chinese Republic 47 

The Soldiers' Friend 49 

Tribute to Daniel E. Sickles , 50 

Pulaski Monument 54 

Steuben Monument , 56 

The Earthquake in Italy 62 

Letter Carriers 64 

Columbus Day , 65 

Raising of the Maine 66 

Cuba * , 73 

The Election of Senators . . < .'•««« 76 

Ship Subsidies . 82 

Merchant Marine * . . . , .~ . 85 

The Republic . . . * 94 

Volunteer Soldiers 95 

Real Economy 96 

Income Tax 100 

Tribute to Boers 109 

Railroad Rate Bill and Interstate Carriers 110 

Life-Savers 117 

Transportation 118 

Tuberculosis Congress 124 

San Francisco Panama Exposition c .... 125 

Good Roads 128 

Eulogy on Richard P. Bland 131 

Tribute to Labor 136 

Ownership of Embassies 139 

Andrew Jackson. 141 

White Slave Trade 145 

Tribute to Democracy 146 

No Invasion of Mexico 149 

5 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

School Teachers 153 

Pan-American Trade 155 

On the Tariff 158 

Bishop Alexander Walters 159 

Cuba's Independence 161 

"Old Ironsides" 164 

Charleston Exposition 169 

War Taxes , 170 

Mrs. Russell Sage .. .. 173 

Annexation of Hawaii 174 

Raising the Maine 178 

The American Navy 180 

Government Employees 182 

Statehood, Arizona, New Mexico 183 

Russian Passport 184 

Russian Treaty 193 

Merit System 207 

Conservation 208 

Eulogy on Senator John T. Morgan — . 214 

Publicity of Campaign Contributions 218 

Wm. R. Smith 223 

Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition 227 

Income Tax 230 

Purchase of Consular Buildings., 233 

Apportionment of Representatives 235 

Libraries 238 

Life-Savers 240 

Abraham Lincoln 243 

The Slocum Disaster 246 

Niagara Falls 249 

Letter Carriers 251 

Copyright Law 253 

Bureau of Corporations. 255 

Eight-Hour Law 256 

Samuel J. Tilden ..„ 257 

Letter from Hon. John Bigelow 26O: 

Taxes on Necessities 263 

Parcels Post 265 

Diplomatic and Consular Appropriations 270 

Eulogy on Senator Elkins 273 

Alaska 277 

On Immigration 290 

Articles from National Magazine 293 



6 



Sulzer' s Short Speeches 



SHORT SKETCH OF WILLIAM SULZER. 

By George W. Blake, of the N. Y. Times. 

There are two distinct types of men in public life to- 
day, one that is constantly in the limelight because of 
''grandstand plays" and their ability to sound their own 
trumpets, or getting their friends to do it for them; the 
other those that "do things/' but who are too modest to 
speak about them, being content to let the records they 
make speak for themselves. To this latter class belongs 
William Sulzer, the able, honest, eloquent and progres- 
sive Democratic representative of the City of New York. 

Emerson has truly said that every commanding monu- 
ment in the annals of the world is the triumph of enthusi- 
asm, and Mr. Sulzer has triumphed over every obstacle 
by reason of his intense enthusiasm in the cause, and his 
determination to do the right thing, no matter what the 
consequences may be. He puts industry, determination, 
and genuine enthusiasm in all his work, and he is a 
worker. 

Mr. Sulzer is to-day the ranking Democratic Congress- 
man in party service in the United States north of Mason 
and Dixon's line. His district in the City of New York 
is practically a Republican one, no Democrat having car- 
ried it since 1892 except Mr. Sulzer, and he has carried 
it by increased majorities in every Congressional cam- 
paign since 1894. The record of his increasing ma- 
jorities under adverse circumstances tells the story. 

It is well known that New Yorkers are hard to please 

7 



8 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



so far as Congressmen are concerned, and they seldom 
keep a member in Congress more than two or three terms, 
but Mr. Sulzer is now in his ninth term and is more loved 
and respected by his constituents than ever before, and 
there is no doubt he can succeed himself as a member of 
Congress just as long as he likes. He has represented his 
district at Albany and at Washington for nearly twenty- 
three years without a break, and certainly no man has 
been more active and useful to his constituents, his State, 
and the country at large in accomplishing things for civic 
righteousness, for the public weal, and for the good of 
humanity. 

Mr. Sulzer resorts to no political arts or personal pre- 
tenses. He is just a plain, common, every-day plod- 
ding, good-natured citizen, sincere, square, and loyal in 
every fiber of his manhood. He does not command sup- 
port by subtle influences, trickery, hypocrisy, self-adver- 
tising and the command of wealth, like some others, but 
succeeds solely through his brains, his intrepidity and his 
fidelity to friends and to principles. He never had a 
press agent, He never financed a publicity bureau. He 
never paid for puffs. He does his work day in and day 
out, year after year, quietly, modestly, confident the re- 
sults will ultimately speak for themselves, and conscious 
of the fact that the knowledge of duty well done, for 
duty's sake, and in the cause of freedom and righteous- 
ness and humanity, is after all the best reward and the 
most lasting recompense a public servant can have. 

Mr. Sulzer has always been a very modest man con- 
cerning his own achievements, but we will not be so mod- 
est in telling what most of the world knows about him. 
And yet the more the people know about Sulzer the better 
they like him. As the record of his achievements is un- 
folded the greater and the grander stands out the man— 
the plain man of the plain people — and they know him 
and they love him — this man who does things for the peo- 
ple for the sake of doing them, and goes his way day 
after day happy in the consciousness that there is work 
to do, and that he is doing his share in his day and gen- 
eration to make the world better and happier as the Mas- 
ter intended. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 9 



The more you know about Sulzer — the more you see of 
him — the more you study him at close range — the more 
you like him and the more you will appreciate what he 
has done, and glory in his trials and triumphs. He needs 
no eulogy. His career of struggle for higher and better 
things is an epic poem. 

William Sulzer was born in an old historic house on 
Liberty Street, Elizabeth, N. on the 18th day of 
March, 1863. He was the second son of a family of 
seven children. His mother, Lydia, came of good old 
Scotch-Irish and Dutch ancestry. His father, Thomas 
Sulzer, was a native of Germany. While a student at 
Heidelberg in 1848, he joined the patriotic forces, en- 
gaged in the struggle for constitutional government, was 
captured and imprisoned, making his escape finally to 
Switzerland, and then emigrated to New York in 185 1, 
where he soon after married. Thomas Sulzer subse- 
quently became a farmer near Elizabeth, N. J., and was 
assisted in the farm work by his son William until the 
boy was fourteen years old. From this ancestry it can 
readily be seen why William Sulzer loves liberty and 
freedom and constitutional government, and how natu- 
rally he comes by his temperament and splendid fighting 
qualities — and there never was a braver fighter in a just 
cause than William, the second son of Thomas and Lydia 
Sulzer. 

William Sulzer attended the country district school. He 
was graduated from the grammar school in 1877. He 
then attended lectures at Columbia College Law School 
and studied in the law office of Parrish & Pendleton in 
New York City. His parents were strict Presbyterians 
and intended William for the ministry, but he longed for 
the law and the battles in the forum for justice, and the 
law claimed him for its own. He was admitted to the bar 
on reaching his majority in 1884 at a General Term of 
the Supreme Court in the City of New York, and im- 
mediately opened an office and began the active practice 
of the law in New York City. He early achieved success 
as a lawyer, and soon became recognized as an eloquent 
public speaker. He rendered effective service to the 
Democratic National Committee as a campaign orator 



io SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



for Cleveland in the memorable struggle of 1884, an< 3 in 
every local and State and national contest since. 

He was elected to the New York Assembly in 1889, 
and was re-elected in each successive year for five terms ; 
serving as Speaker of the Assembly in 1893, and as leader 
of the Democratic: minority in 1894. He made a brilliant 
record during his term in the Xew York Assembly for 
honesty, ability and industry. The newspapers, regard- 
less of politics, commended his work. He was a judicial 
and impartial presiding officer, and one of the youngest 
Speakers in the history of the State. His sincerity and 
his integrity were never questioned. As Speaker he gave 
the people the lowest tax rate and the most economical 
tax budget in forty-seven years, and the cleanest and 
shortest session of the Legislature in fifty-one years. He 
made good, and justified the confidence reposed in him by 
his party. He wrote on the statute books the reform laws 
and many beneficial acts for the general welfare. He did 
much for the State, won the affection of the people, com- 
manded the respect of all, and laid the foundation broad 
and deep for his greater career in the national arena 
where mental giants are the contestants. 

"When William Sulzer left Albany after five years of 
earnest effort and successful accomplishment — a splendid 
record without parallel in the history of the State — he bid 
his friends and admirers good-bye and said there was not 
money enough in the State to ever get him to cross the 
portals of the Capitol to lobby for or against a bill. He 
has kept that promise. Do you know of the fees he re- 
fused? Do you know of the temptations he has resisted? 
This fact speaks volumes for his integrity and his man- 
hood. Sulzer never loved money. He is as poor to-day 
as he was then. 

In 1894 he was elected from the old Tenth District of 
New York a representative to the Fifty-fourth Congress, 
and was re-elected by an increased majority at each suc- 
cessive election, His present term will expire in March, 
1913. His service in Congress has been conspicuous for 
his championship of popular rights, constitutional gov- 
ernment, and especially his defense of the cause of the 
people. He pleaded the cause of the Cuban insurgents 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES II 



before the House in several eloquent speeches. In the 
Fifty-fifth Congress he introduced the measure to secure 
the Department of Commerce with a secretary having a 
seat in the Cabinet. He is the author of the bill creating 
a Department of Labor, and this bill, as introduced by 
him, made the first scientific classification of labor ever 
attempted in this country. He introduced the first reso- 
lutions sympathizing with the Cubans, the first granting 
to them belligerent rights, the first favoring the independ- 
ence of the Cubans, and the first declaring war against 
Spain. He also championed the rights of the Boers in 
Congress by introducing a number of resolutions of sym- 
pathy for their cause, and denouncing in several eloquent 
speeches the conduct of the war by the British. He is 
the author of the resolutions providing for an amend- 
ment of the Constitution of the United States so that the 
United States Senators shall be elected by the people ; of 
the measure to raise the Maine ; the bill to make Colum- 
bus Day a legal holiday ; the bill for a statute to Tilden ; 
the new copyright law ; the Army reorganization law ; the 
bill to create a Department of Transportation ; the bill to 
restore the merchant marine; the old soldiers' bill and 
many other commendable measures. He is the Chairman 
of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, one of the great 
and most important committees in Congress. He is a 
forceful debater and one of the prominent leaders on the 
floor of the House. It is claimed for him that he fought 
more battles before the House for justice, for equal 
rights to all and for the plain people, in the face of strong 
opposition, than any other representative in Congress. 
In national politics he was sent as a delegate from New 
York to the Democratic national conventions of 1896, 
1900, 1904, 1908, and 1912; and was one of the active 
supporters of W. J. Bryan before the people in every 
campaign of the latter for President. 

There is not a man to-day in Congress who has fought 
so many battles for the people and good government in 
the face of strong opposition and who has so many vic- 
tories to his credit as Mr. Sulzer. His success is due 
entirely to his great industry, his application, his genial- 
ity, his approachableness, his sincerity of purpose, sturdy 



12 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



character and conscientiousness in everything he does and 
undertakes. These qualities are well known and recog- 
nized by his colleagues and constituents alike. He be- 
longs to the new school of politics, to the progressive, 
wide-awake, successful class of Americans in public life 
who do things and do them well. He represents the high- 
est type of true American manhood. His name is known 
from one end of the country to the other, and he is as 
much loved and respected by the people in the South as 
in the North, on the Pacific as on the Atlantic. 

He has had a varied and most interesting career in 
political life, and his experiences have tended to give him 
that wide sympathy with human nature, that tolerant 
outlook on life and the springs that move men, that lend 
to his speeches their intensely human quality. 

For several years Mr. Sulzer's friends throughout the 
State have urged his name as a candidate for Governor 
of New York. To-day he is one of the strongest men 
politically in this country, and his friends, believing he 
can make a much better showing this year than he could 
ever have made before are urging his candidacy, and 
they predict that he will win if nominated beyond a 
doubt. 

To win the election in the coming campaign the Demo- 
crats need a candidate who can carry with him the Demo- 
cratic vote, and at the same time attract the support of 
independent citizens who are not strict party men. It is 
believed that this is exactly what Wm. Sulzer can do. 

It is known that Mr. Sulzer is not personally desirous 
of being a candidate, but we believe that if nominated he 
would lead his party to victory at the polls. Therefore, 
not to gratify his wishes, but to promote the welfare of 
the Democratic party and the good of the people we con- 
ceive it to be a duty to urge his nomination upon the con- 
sideration of fellow-Democrats. 

By a life of high public service and stainless private 
conduct Wm. Sulzer has demonstrated that he has 
great abilities, pure patriotism, wide sympathies and 
sound judgment. For eighteen years he has been one of 
the leaders of the House of Representatives at Washing- 
ton. He is thoroughly familiar with our government, a 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 13 



profound and sympathetic student of existing social and 
industrial conditions, and a great expounder and defender 
of our Constitution. He is a sincere Democrat, grounded 
in the historical doctrines of our party, conservative to 
preserve the old landmarks of good government, and 
progressive to apply these tested principles to new condi- 
tions which arise from time to time. No man would 
fear that Wra, Sulzer in any position would rashly at- 
tempt to tear down anything which is good in our politi- 
cal life or to build up anything which is injurious. His 
long and consistent record in public life proves the truth 
of this assertion. He is constructive— not destructive. 
He is no demagogue — no hypocrite — no foe to anything 
except intrenched wrongs and special privilege which 
are essentially un-Democratic and un-American. 

Mr. Sulzer has sometimes been charged with being a 
partisan, but how T ever much one may differ now and then 
from his political views, it is impossible not to admire 
the splendid lucidity and vigor with which they are set 
forth. In an age of lax and extravagant expression he 
uses the written word with unerring precision and un- 
failing dignity. Whenever he has espoused a cause it 
has been from conviction, and not from caprice or parti- 
sanship. 

It would take a good-sized book to enumerate all that 
Mr. Sulzer has done and accomplished for the people dur- 
ing the time he has been in public life, and yet he is only 
in the prime of manhood. He is honest and truthful and 
loyal in all things — a Democrat through and through — 
and it is these qualities that make him to-day one of the 
most influential and popular members of the House of 
Representatives. 

Mr. Sulzer is an orator up-to-date. He does not in- 
dulge in sophistry, or in refined and involved sentences 
that are hard to understand. There is snap to his 
speeches. They are generally short, epigrammatic and 
eloquent. They ring true. They say what they mean and 
mean what they say. 

Mr. Sulzer is not a blatant reformer ; he wears no 
placard on his breast; but he stands for honesty in poli- 
tics — for the eternal principles of truth and right and 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



justice in public affairs. He believes in fair play and 
equal opportunity for all. He is broad and liberal in his 
views ; has charity for all ; trusts the people, and has never 
lost faith in humanity. He is an eminent lawyer, a phil- 
osophical statesman, a great civic reformer, and an ideal 
citizen of the purest patriotism. He is the foe of every 
public evil, and in his lifetime he has done more to cor- 
rect governmental abuses and secure substantial results 
than any man since the days of Tilden. He knows him- 
self ; he believes in the destiny of the republic, and he has 
made the corner-stone of his political convictions that 
cardinal principle — equal rights to all and special priv- 
ileges to none. 

He is an indefatigable worker and accomplishes what 
he undertakes. He believes in plod and progress. He is 
the architect of his own career. Unaided he has sur- 
mounted every obstacle. Alone he has risen step by step 
over every difficulty. He has eloquence, patience and 
confidence, energy and industry — and above all he has 
character. He has tenacity of purpose and always bides 
his time. He never relies on luck or trusts to chance. 
He meets Napoleon's test — he does things. He is the im- 
placable foe of private monopoly, of unjust taxation, of 
organized greed, of discriminating legislation that robs 
the many for the benefit of the few, and of every special 
privilege. He is a faithul public official, and, like Cleve- 
land, preaches the doctrine that public office is a public 
trust. He Is a reformer who reforms. He does not talk 
about a policy one day and abandon it the next. What 
he promises to do he does. He never indulges in theatri- 
cals ; he is not a spectacular statesman. He stands for 
civic purification ; he foresees the coming storm of the 
indignation of an outraged people, and the great work 
he has at heart he knows will not culminate until civic 
righteousness is enthroned in every capital of America. 

Mr. Sulzer is a believer in the policies of Tilden, the 
great American reformer. The enthusiasm for civic 
righteousness which Tilden's memory inspires is his guid- 
ing star. 

Mr. Sulzer believes that in every sane attempt to im- 
prove the administration of governmental affairs, in every 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 15 



intelligent effort to better the conditions of public life, 
in every forward movement designed to rid legislation 
and the enforcement of laws of favoritism, fraud, and 
trickery, the spirit of Tilden finds expression. The work 
that Tilden did, the methods that his extraordinary in- 
telligence devised and approved, constitute to-day, in the 
opinion of Mr. Sulzer, the foundation and plans for re- 
forms continuously in progress but as yet unfinished. 

No one owns Congressman Sulzer. He is no man's 
man. He wears nobody's collar. He is free and inde- 
pendent. He thinks for himself, acts for himself and 
speaks for himself. He takes wise advice, makes up his 
mind what is right, and then goes ahead regardless of 
personal consequences. No one would ever try to in- 
timidate him. He knows no fear. He is often cautious 
because he believes it is better to be slow than sorry. The 
people have not forgotten how he defied "orders" and 
voted against "Cannonisrn." That was the test of his 
independence that showed the metal of which he is made, 
and "Cannonisrn" is still an issue. 

Mr. Sulzer is a man of sentiment — of the broadest 
sympathies — of an attractive personality, a cultured, 
scholarly gentleman, with a sunshiny, genial disposition. 
He has a remarkable memory and seldom forgets a face 
or a name. He is true to his friends. He seldom makes 
a promise but never breaks a promise. He has few preju- 
dices, and they are all against the intrenched wrongs of 
the time. He has no conceit and very little vanity. He 
hates cant and cares naught for race or creed. A man 
is a man to Sulzer. He is married and lives with his fam- 
ily in the heart of his Congressional district, the idol of 
the people. 

To the everlasting credit of Mr. Sulzer be it said that 
during his long public career he has never worn a corpo- 
ration collar, never received orders from any political 
boss, never compromised a principle, never deviated an 
inch from the path of duty, and never supported a meas- 
ure calculated to promote any predatory interest at the 
expense of the people. No broken covenants, no violated 
pledges, no unfulfilled promises dishonor or discredit his 
public service. No one can point to a single act of Mr. 



16 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Sulzer's during his long public career and successfully 
accuse him of either insincerity or incapacity. In the 
consideration of any legislative proposition the first 
question he solves is this : "Is it right ?" He weighs all 
political and industrial measures in the scale of natural 
justice and accepts unhesitatingly its arbitrament. In his 
opinion injustice never pays; that there is a Nemesis 
that follows in its wake that never falters nor sleeps. 
To him only that is enduring which is right, and expedi- 
ent that which is just; that the moral perception is a 
safer pilot than the intellectual perception, because the 
truth which the intellect discovers by patient research the 
moral sense reaches by intuition. 

Mr. Sulzer's sterling integrity, his keen discernment of 
what is just and right and his implacable hatred of cor- 
ruption in all its forms combine to make him a staunch 
defender and an able advocate of the people's rights and 
interests. His strong, resonant, eloquent voice in every 
struggle of the people is heard like the tones of a trumpet 
beating full on the ear, eradicating doubt, inspiring con- 
fidence and animating the soul with the hope of ultimate 
victory. His researches are not for dress parade or gaudy 
exhibition, but for practical public use and benefit; it is 
not the romance, but the stern reality of literature which 
interests him. His mind is eminently practical and stored, 
not with fiction, but with indisputable facts and eternal 
truths. His style is vigorous, virile, ardent and character- 
ized by a logical arrangement of facts, exact reasoning, 
lucid exposition which indicate the production of one who 
has mastered his subject — it is the eloquence of truth de- 
livered by one who both feels and appreciates it. 

To him law is an exact science and when human law 
does not conform to the natural law of justice, he regards 
it as a species of legal violence. Those fundamental 
principles which have their abode in the brave and honest 
heart, the clear mental vision which looks through the 
mists of sophistry; the irresistible energy of mind which 
sweeps aside the artificial impediments that obstruct the 
path to the realization of industrial justice; the keen 
mental discernment that penetrates dark places where 
fraud and corruption might lurk; the unswerving devo- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 17 



tion to public duty, fidelity to lofty ideals and the courage 
that braves all dangers, meets all opposition in the cause 
of good government, pure politics, civic righteousness and 
industrial justice — all these he has ; and they combine to 
make him not only a great lawyer, but a great lawmaker. 
His unselfish devotion to the rights and interests of the 
people have developed in him the highest qualities and 
noblest impulses. 

The physical courage that confronts the enemy in the 
field of battle amid turmoil, intense excitement and all 
manner of confusion, is comparatively a cheap virtue, for 
the weak and timid have shown it in all ages and in every 
country. But the high moral courage which qualifies a 
man to take the lead in great struggles for reforms, who 
ignores all blandishments and arrays himself on the side 
of the helpless and disorganized masses, is a courage that 
few men in public life to-day possess. He w r ho unswerv- 
ingly supports the cause of industrial justice and attacks 
powerful interests when they trespass on the rights of 
the common people must be of strong soul and high en- 
deavor if he is to survive the bitter and unrelenting war- 
fare which the advocates of privilege invariably wage 
against him. This rare and inestimable quality Mr. Sul- 
zer possesses in an eminent degree and in full perfection 
and it places him in the vanguard of that noble little 
army of democratic Democrats who are to-day fighting 
the people's battles against the usurpations of the few 
against the rights of the many. 

Mr. Sulzer is no demagogue to fawn on the masses of 
men and cajole their prejudices because they are the ulti- 
mate repository of political power. He speaks to them 
as a friend, for he is their friend — their devoted, faithful 
friend — but he invariably tells them the plain, naked 
truths, whether pleasant or disagreeable. 

His every utterance proves him an able tribune of the 
wealth producers of the country. Mr. Sulzer has been 
called ambitious, and in a sense this is true. He is am- 
bitious, to serve his country to the best of his ability and 
in a capacity where he can render the best and most ef- 
fective service. He is ambitious to leave to posterity a 
name hallowed by association with noble work done to 



18 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



improve the condition and lessen the burden of the op- 
pressed, irrespective of race or creed, and to sleep at last 
in a grave made sacred by the love and veneration of the 
people whom he loved so well and served so faithfully. 

Mr. Sulzer is of large stature, standing over six feet 
in height w T ith a weight of one hundred and eighty-five 
pounds which he carries with the grace of a trained ath- 
lete. He is abstemious ; has sandy hair and steel blue eyes 
that look straight into yours, and read your innermost 
thoughts. During the war with Spain he organized a 
regiment of volunteers and was elected colonel, but for 
political reasons it was not called into active service. Two 
of his younger brothers — a captain and a lieutenant — died 
in the service of their country. 

Mr. Sulzer, without doubt, is the best vote getter to- 
day in the State of New York. He has always run 
thousands of votes ahead of his ticket. He has never 
been defeated. He is a man of the people and for the 
people. 

He is a 32d degree Mason, has held all the honors in 
the craft, and years ago became a life member. He is a 
member of Lloyd Aspinall Post, G. A. R. ; the Army and 
Navy Union ; the Eagles ; the Pioneers of Alaska ; the 
Arctic Brotherhood ; the National-Democratic Club ; 
Manhattan Club; Press Club; Masonic Club; and other 
clubs in New York City. His church affiliations are 
with the Presbyterian denomination. His most profitable 
reading has been history, philosophy and political econ- 
omy ; and his advice to young men is to work hard, cul- 
tivate good habits, have a motive in life and a positive 
determination to succeed. 

Mr. Sulzer is a very busy man, but his spare hours are 
spent in writing a book on "Political Economy/' which 
his friends believe will be a standard text-book on eco- 
nomic principles. His rugged honesty, his loyalty to his 
friends, his ability as a champion of the poor and op- 
pressed in every land and in every clime have made his 
name a household word among the people of America, 
and as an apostle of freedom forever enshrined him in 
the hearts of humanity. 



Mr. Sulzer's Brilliant Record of Accomplishment in 
the Assembly of the State of New York for 
1890, '91, '92, '93 and '94. 

The record at Albany proves that William Sulzer : 

1. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books of 
the State of New York, the law for the Women's 
Reformatory. 

2. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Anti-Pinkerton Law. 

3. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the State care 
of the insane — one of the great reformatory meas- 
ures of recent times, which has been substantially 
copied by nearly every State in the Union. 

4. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law abolishing the 
sweat shops. 

5. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for free lectures 
for workingmen and working women. 

6. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law finally abolishing 
imprisonment for debt. 

7. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the Constitu- 
tional Convention. 

8. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the Colum- 
bian Celebration in New York city. 

9. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Freedom of Worship 
Law. 

10. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Ballot Reform Law. 



19 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



11. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute hooks 
of the State of New York, the law known as the 
Corrupt Practices Act. 

12. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law to limit the hours 
of labor. 

13. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the codifica- 
tion of the statutes of the State of New York. 

14. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the statutes codifying the 
quarantine laws. 

15. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law to open Stuy- 
vesant Park to the people. 

16. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law to open to the 
people on Sunday the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

17. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of New York, the law prohibiting net fishing in Ja- 
maica Bay. 

18. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the relief of 
the employees of the Street Cleaning Department. 

19. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the Prevailing 
Rate of Wages. 

20. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the State 
Park and to conserve the Adirondack Forests. 

21. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law for the conserva- 
tion of the natural resources of the State of New 
York and for the protection of the water sheds of the 
Hudson River. 

22. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law abolishing cor- 
poral punishment in the prisons of the State. 

23. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law completing the 
State Capitol. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 21 



24. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Constitutional Amend- 
ment to enlarge the State Canals. 

25. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Weekly Payment 
Bill. 

26. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the Saturday Half-Holi- 
day Law. 

27. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of the State of New York, the law establishing the 
epileptic colony. 

28. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of New York, the law for the Aquarium in New 
York City. 

29. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of New York, the law for Bronx and Van Cortlandt 
Parks. 

30. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of New York, the Tilden Library Law. 

31. Was the author of, and wrote on the statute books 
of New York, the law to compel the New York Cen- 
tral Railroad Company to light and ventilate the 
Fourth Avenue tunnel, and many other progressive 
reform measures of far-reaching importance to all 
the people of the State of New York. 



THE CONSTRUCTIVE RECORD OF MR. SUI> 
ZER'S EIGHTEEN YEARS IN CONGRESS. 



The Congressional Record tells the story of Mr. Sul- 
zer's work in Congress for eighteen years. 

The Congressional Record proves that Wm. Sulzer 

1. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
law for the Bureau of Corporations, through the 
agency of which the anti-trust laws can be enforced. 

2. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
law increasing the pay of the letter carriers of the 
country. 

3. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution of sympathy for the Cuban patriots. 

4. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution of sympathy for the heroic Boers in their 
struggle to maintain their independence. 

5. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution of sympathy for the oppressed Jews in 
Russia, and protesting against their murder by the 
Russian government. 

6. Is the author of the resolution to make Lincoln's 
birthday a legal holiday. 

7. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution to abrogate the treaty with Russia be- 
cause that government refused to recognize Jewish 
passports. 

8. Is the author of the resolution to make October 12 
a legal holiday, to be called "Columbus Day." 

9. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, a 
pension law for the orphans and widows of the de- 
ceased soldiers and sailors who saved the Union. 

10. Is the author of the resolution to elect United States 
Senators by direct vote of the people. 

11. Is the author of the bill to regulate interstate com- 
merce railroads. 

12. Is the author of the bill for the relief of the victims 
of the "General Slocum" disaster. 

22 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 23 



13. Is the author of the bill to restore the American 
Merchant Marine by preferential duties along the 
lines of the early navigation laws of the country. 

14. Is the author of the bill to construct good national 
roads. 

15. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
bill to raise the wreck of the "Maine." 

16. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
law r to light the Statue of Liberty. 

17. Is the author of the Old Soldiers' Bill. 

18. Is the author of the bill to create a "Department of 
Labor," with a Secretary having a seat in the Cabi- 
net. 

19. Is the author of the bill to reduce tariff taxes, espe- 
cially on all goods, wares and merchandise manufac- 
tured in this country and sold cheaper abroad than to 
the people in the United States. 

20. Is the author of the bill to place on the free list coal, 
wood, pulp, lumber and white print paper. 

21. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution to amend the Constitution for a graduated 
income tax law. 

22. Is the author of the bill for postal savings banks and 
a general parcels post. 

23. Is the author of the bill for the Department of Trans- 
portation. 

24. Is the author of the bill for the Volunteer soldiers 
and sailors who saved the Union. 

25. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
new copyright law. 

26. Is the author of, and wrote on the statute books, the 
resolution congratulating the people of China on the 
establishment of a republic. 

27. Is the author of the bill to improve the Foreign Serv- 
ice, and acquire embassies abroad. 

28. Is the author of the bill to prevent any ship sailing 
from the ports of the United States unless equipped 
with every safeguard and device for saving life; 
and many other useful measures in the interests of all 
the people of the country. 



CONGRESSMAN WILLIAM SULZER'S REMARK- 
ABLE RECORD. 

(From the "New York Critic" April 15, 1912.) 

Mr. Sulzer has been in public office continuously for 
nearly a quarter of a century — five years as an Assembly- 
man and eighteen years as a Congressman. He has never 
been defeated, although he lives in a district that is nor- 
mally Republican. Indeed, it is one of the most cosmo- 
politan Congressional districts in the whole country, anr* 
although it contains many nationalities, has been gerry- 
mandered against him, and has an ever-changing popula- 
tion, he has always been elected, even when the tidal wave 
was Republican. 

The secret of his great popularity is found in the fact 
that he is a man of the people, is absolutely honest, is 
true to his friends and never breaks his word ; and it is 
not to be wondered at that he simply OWNS a district 
that no other Democrat can carry. If the country knew 
him as well it would admire him as devotedly as his own 
constituents do. 

The one remarkable fact in his career is that he never 
seems to have made a political mistake, and this is ac- 
counted for by the fact that he always puts principles be- 
fore expediency and fidelity to his friends above tempo- 
rary advantage. The Critic has collated the following 
from the official records : 

First: Mr. Sulzer was elected on an independent 
ticket to the Assembly in 1889 by the people to protest 
against the giving away of the Broadway railroad fran- 
chise. He won by 800 or 900 plurality. 

Second : He was re-elected in 1890, '91, '92 and '93 in 
succession to the Assembly from the Fourteenth Assem- 
bly District by increased majorities. He was the Speaker 

24 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 25 



in 1893 by the unanimous vote of his Democratic col- 
leagues, notwithstanding the State machine was opposed 
to him. He was the leader of the majority in 1892 and 
the leader of the minority in 1894. His record in the 
State Legislature was always in the interest of good gov- 
ernment and the people, and HAS NEVER BEEN AD- 
VERSELY CRITICISED BY THE PRESS. 

Third: He ran for Congress in the old Tenth Con- 
gressional District in 1894. The district had always been 
very close. Parts of it were intense Republican strong- 
holds, dominated by such men as John J. O'Brien, Ferdi- 
nand Eidman, William J. Murray, John E. Brodsky, Mi- 
chael Collins and other Republican leaders. In 1894 the 
Republicans swept the country. The Democrats carried 
only five Congressional districts north of Mason and 
Dixon's line, of which three were in the city of New 
York. Congressmen like General Sickles and Amos J. 
Cummings were defeated in Democratic strongholds. 
Hill running for Governor lost Sulzer's Congressional 
district by over 11,000. Sulzer carried it by over 800 and 
was the only Democrat elected from that district. 

Fourth : Mr. Sulzer stood by his party in the fight of 
1896. He was again a candidate and was elected by three 
times the majority he received two years before. Bryan 
lost the district by over 17,000. Sulzer again was the 
only Democrat elected from that Congressional district, 
and it was a three-cornered fight. 

Fifth : In 1898 Sulzer carried the district by over 
8,000, notwithstanding there was a concerted movement 
by Mr. Hanna and other Republican leaders to defeat 
him, and money was poured into the district to the ex- 
tent of thousands and thousands of dollars. 

Sixth : In 1900 McKinley carried the district by over 
11,000. Sulzer carried it by over 5,000. In 1902 Sulzer 
carried the district by over 9,000. The district went Re- 
publican for Governor. 

Seventh : Then the district was changed under the 
new apportionment and made stronger Republican. In 
1904 Parker lost the district by over 7,000 and Sulzer 
carried it by over 4,000. 

Eighth: In 1906 Sulzer carried the district by over 



26 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



11,000, receiving OVER SEVENTY-FIVE PER 
CENT. OF THE ENTIRE VOTE CAST IN THE 
DISTRICT. 

Ninth : In 1908 Bryan lost the district by over 8,000 
and Sulzer carried it by about 5,000. 

The returns of the votes show that Mr. Sulzer has 
represented a Republican district practically ever since 
he went to Congress, and has always run thousands of 
votes ahead of his ticket. If he had run for Governor 
on several of these occasions when he ran for Congress 
and had polled on an average the same majorities in 
every district throughout the State, he would have car- 
ried the State in 1898, 1900, 1902, 1904, 1906, 1908 and 
in 1910. 

Mr. Sulzer has never mixed in local politics. He has 
never received a receivership or a refereeship or any 
other consideration. He has kept his skirts clean and has 
been in State politics when a member of the Legislature 
and in National politics as a member of Congress. He 
is a man who thinks for himself and has always done 
what he believed was right according to his light. When 
the orders came to vote for "Cannonism," Mr. Sulzer was 
the only Democrat from the city who voted against 
"Cannonism." 

A man with such a remarkable record in this age of 
shifty politicians would make a safe and sane executive. 
As a candidate he is ideal. Progressive and conserva- 
tives can support him conscientiously. 



SULZER'S RECORD AS A MEMBER OF THE 
CONGRESS. 



(From the New York World, Monday, March 4, 1912.) 

Some of the Important Things He Has Done for 
the Country — Halts Mexican War — Shows Up 
the True Situation in the Panama Canal Deal 
and Bluffs Russia. 

tell the truth, say what you mean and be polite, 

At a recent reception in Washington a diplomat asked 
Mr. Sulzer if he was in favor of "Dollar diplomacy." "I 
am in favor of direct diplomacy " promptly replied the 
New York Congressman. "What do you mean by direct 
diplomacy?" he was asked. 

"Telling the truth" he said. "Say what you mean and 
mean what you say, and be polite about it." 

[Special to the World.] 
Washington, March 3, 1912. — Representative Wil- 
liam Sulzer of New York knows nothing about politics. 
Such at least is the firm belief of a majority alike of his 
friends and his enemies. Still the fact remains that the 
Democratic Chairman of the House Committee on For- 
eign Affairs is now completing his ninth consecutive term 
in the House of Representatives, and that for eighteen 
years he has carried a staunch Republican district in New 
York City. 

All the efforts of Tammany Hall, of the Republican 
organization, of Wall Street and its allies, have failed 
to pry him loose from his seat. Twice he has come 
within an ace of forcing Tammany to accept him as 
Democratic candidate for Governor, and to-day he is 
stronger than he ever was. 

27 



28 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



When asked how he does it, the Honorable Bill thrusts 
his quid a little further into his cheek, affects an enig- 
matic smile that would make Wu Ting-fang himself 
envious and says, "The people understand me ; I under- 
stand the people, and we trust each other." 

Students of history will recall that one Thomas Jef- 
ferson and one Abraham Lincoln ascribed their political 
fortunes much to the same reason. But any one who 
would have taken up either of those distinguished gen- 
tlemen for a fool in politics would have found himself 
left. So, too, would any one who tried the experiment 
with Congressman Sulzer. He is one of the only three 
Congressmen on the Democratic side of the house who 
received any real political advancement when his party 
gained control in 19 10. 

The other two were Champ Clark and Oscar Under- 
wood. Mr. Clark was made Speaker, Mr. Underwood 
became chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and 
floor leader of the house, and William Sulzer was placed 
at the head of the important Committee on Foreign Af- 
fairs. 

THREE GREAT ACHIEVEMENTS BY SULZER. 

All three have distinguished themselves, but to Chair- 
man Sulzer belongs the credit of three great achieve- 
ments. He prevented the throwing of American troops 
into Mexico; he secured the abrogation of the Russian 
treaty on the Jewish passport question, and he has 
brought the strong light of publicity to bear upon the rape 
of the Isthmus, one of the blackest spots on Mr. Roose- 
velt's record. 

All three stories are worth the telling. Last summer 
when Ambassador Wilson told President Taft that "the 
whole of Mexico was seething with political discontent 
and Diaz was seated on a volcano, the eruption of which 
might endanger the safety of 40,000 Americans, men, 
women and children, living in Mexico," President Taft 
concentrated an army along the Rio Grande. 

Immediately every conceivable pressure was brought 
to bear upon the President to induce him to send Ameri- 
can troops across the border, ostensibly to protect Ameri- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 29 



can interests, but in reality to uphold the tottering regime 
of Diaz, the dictator. The President would have yielded 
if the consent of the House had been obtained to this 
suggestion. 

The Senate was ready to accede to the desire of the 
Morgans, the Guggenheims, the Rothschilds and other 
financial interests. Some little opposition was expected 
from the Democratic House, but this every one believed 
would easily be overcome. They did not know Sulzer 
then, they have learned to know him since. Sulzer be- 
lieved then as he does now that the United States should 
keep out of Mexico and allow the Mexicans to settle 
their own affairs in their own way. It was certain the 
House would not consent to an invasion of Mexico, even 
on pretext of protecting American lives and property, 
in the face of an adverse opinion of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs. 

Pressure, pressure of the most powerful kind, which 
few men would have been able and fewer still have dared 
to withstand, was brought to bear upon the plain hard- 
working chairman. The thousand millions of American 
investments shrieked their loudest, but Sulzer stood firm. 
He was summoned to the White House. The messages 
of Ambassador Wilson, the secret reports of American 
agents and American army officers were laid before him, 
the necessity for upholding the Diaz regime and all it 
meant to the vast financial interests was pointed out, he 
was argued with, cajoled and threatened, but he told 
President Taft and the Republican Senators that in his 
opinion Mexico was a friendly sister republic, that she 
should be treated as such by the Government of the 
United States. 

PUTS AMERICAN HONOR ABOVE AMERICAN DOLLARS. 

Sulzer added that American honor was more sacred 
than American dollars, and that the policy of this coun- 
try should be to live up to its treaty obligations, enforce 
the neutrality laws, and allow the people of Mexico to 
settle their differences without the intervention of the 
United States or any other foreign Government. 



30 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



As President Taft has given assurances to . the repre- 
sentatives of all Latin- American republics in Washington 
that the United States had no ulterior designs on Mexico, 
Mexican territory or Mexican independence, and that he 
would not intervene except by and with the advice and 
consent of Congress, it was impossible in the face of Mr. 
Sulzer's opposition to do more than patrol the border. 

As a result of the non-intervention of the United 
States, Mexico overthrew Diaz, and Madero, the leader 
of the revolutionary forces, became President. 

Within the last few weeks the situation has again be- 
come acute. Madero had failed to fulfil the expecta- 
tions of the Mexican people, and the weakness of his ad- 
ministration has given rise to armed disturbance through- 
out Mexico. 

Financial interests suffering severely from so long a 
period of political unrest have again brought every con- 
ceivable pressure to bear upon Mr. Taft to send Ameri- 
can forces into Mexico to restore order and establish a 
stable Government that could afford the protection so 
badly needed. 

Only last Saturday a meeting was held at the White 
House at which were present Secretary of War Stimson 
and other members of the Cabinet, together with Sena- 
tors Root, Lodge, Stone, Culberson, Bacon, Bailey and 
others, and again the decision was reached that if the 
consent of the House could be obtained American troops 
should be thrown into Mexico. 

Again Chairman Sulzer held the key of the position. 
He was summoned to the White House, the situation was 
laid before him, again he stood firm. If this country 
to-day is not at war with Mexico it owes it more to 
Congressman Sulzer than to any other man. Mr. Sulzer 
pointed out that Mexico is rich and can be held finan- 
cially responsible for any damage done to American prop- 
erty or suffered by American citizens ; that a war of con- 
quest would be an international crime ; that Latin-Amer- 
ica would unite in protest if this great republic ruth- 
lessly invaded the territory of a friendly sister nation. 
He refused to assent to the crossing of the Mexican 
border line by a single American soldier. He said that 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 31 



if one man went over the whole Mexican people, irre- 
spective of their political differences, would join to repel 
the invader and that the outcome would inevitably be a 
war that could only end by the conquest of every inch of 
Mexican territory. So much for the Mexican story. 



ANOTHER TRIUMPH IN THE RUSSIAN PASSPORT AFFAIR. 

The Russian passport question afforded Mr. Sulzer an- 
other signal triumph. It has been a thorn in the side of 
the State Department for forty years. American citizens 
bearing American passports were refused access to a 
country which had bound itself by the sacred ties of a 
solemn treaty to give free access to citizens of the United 
States, but which refused to admit Jews within its bor- 
ders. Here was a friendly nation arrogating to itself 
the right to discriminate between American citizens and 
to discriminate on account of race and religion. Yet 
nothing had been done, and it almost seemed as though 
nothing ever would be done until Mr. Sulzer became 
Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. 
He took up the question. He cut the Gordian knot by 
introducing a resolution to abrogate the Russian treaty 
of 1832, and he made that resolution express the funda- 
mental rights of American citizens at home and abroad. 
In urging its passage he told the House : 

"I stand . . . for equal rights to all and special 
privileges to none— for the dignity of American citizen- 
ship here and everywhere/' 

Mr. Sulzer won a notable victory in passing his resolu- 
tion through the House by the overwhelming vote of 300 
to 1, and this forced the President to give to Russia the 
notice of abrogation directed to be given by the resolu- 
tion. It is true that the Senate afterward amended the 
resolution, but in so doing they made no improvement 
and the Sulzer resolution as passed by the House will 
stand for all time as a landmark in the legislative history 
of the country regarding the rights of American citizens. 
Contrary to what was published, Russia never objected to 
the language of the House resolution directly or indi- 



32 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



rectly, formally or informally, either in St. Petersburg 
or in Washington. 

TRUE STORY OF THE PANAMA CANAL RIGHTS. 

Last but not least of Congressman Sulzer's achieve- 
ments has been the placing on the official records of 
Congress the true story of how the United States ac- 
quired the right to build the Panama Canal. The hear- 
ings that have so far been held by the House Committee 
on Foreign Affairs have proved conclusively : 

First — That Mr. Roosevelt and some members of his 
administration were cognizant of and gave their support 
to the preparations being made for the Panama revolu- 
tion. 

Second — That the steps taken by Mr. Roosevelt to pre- 
vent Columbia from maintaining her sovereignty over the 
Isthmus of Panama and to prevent the landing of troops 
within the State of Panama and the suppression of the 
fake rebellion were in violation of the treaty of 1846-48; 
and, 

Third — That the acts of Mr. Roosevelt in respect to the 
creation and recognition of the Republic of Panama were 
in violation, not only of the treaty obligations of the 
United States, but of fundamental principles of interna- 
tional law, which have been and are recognized by the 
United States as binding upon nations in their dealings 
with one another. 

There is now every prospect that Columbia's claims 
will be submitted to the perament court of arbitration at 
The Hague, to which Mr. Taft and Mr. Knox have re- 
peatedly expressed their desire to see all nations bring 
their international disputes for settlement. The far- 
reaching results of the great service Mr. Sulzer has ren- 
dered in this connection can best be realized by the fact 
that the anti-American feeling caused throughout the 
Latin republics by the rape of the Isthmus is costing the 
United States forty or fifty millions of dollars a year in 
trade alone and that the country is virtually paying for 
the Panama Canal twice over, once in money and once 
in trade. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



33 



Another signal service rendered to the cause of justice 
and liberty by Congressman Sulzer was the recognition 
of the republic of Portugal. This he has followed up by 
introducing this very week a resolution congratulating 
the people of China on the establishment of the Chinese 
republic. This resolution has been favorably reported to 
the House and its passage seems assured. 

Some of the other public services rendered by Con- 
gressman Sulzer are the introduction of the resolution 
to change the Constitution of the United States to bring 
about the election of United States Senators by the peo- 
ple. This* he has been advocating ever since he came to 
Congress and the victory is almost won. Mr. Sulzer is 
the author of legislation in Congress to give the people 
of this country the benefits of the parcels post, and there 
is every likelihood that before this session adjourns the 
bill will become a law. 

Sulzer is also the author of a bill to restore the Ameri- 
can merchant marine and for years has been advocating 
legislation to place the American flag on the high seas. 

And there are others too numerous to mention. When 
the people wanted the wreck of the Maine raised Sulzer 
introduced the bill and passed it. He is the author of 
the bill to create a patent court of appeals. He is the 
author of the best copyright law ever placed upon the 
statute books of this country. And so on and so on. 

Sulzer is patient and courteous, sincere and grateful, 
He knows what to do and how to do it. When he cham- 
pions a cause for justice or humanity he never ceases to 
advocate it until that cause is won. His enthusiasm for 
right is only equalled by his perseverance to secure its 
final triumph. 

"Work tells," is Sulzer's motto, 



SULZER, THE UNSPOILED PUBLIC SERVANT. 



{W 9 A. Lenns, in the "News" April 22, 1912.) 

A Pen Picture of the Congressman from the Tenth 
District, Made at Close Range. 

Sulzer is at his best in a chair to chair talk. This isn't 
true of many men, because the average individual cannot 
stand the intimate scrutiny that discloses personal blem- 
ishes quite as readily as it reveals deficiencies of mind. 
Most men in public, or in private life wear best and wear 
longest when seen at long range : and a goodly portion of 
our public men especially made their reputations judged 
from afar, seen on the rostrum, read in their speeches., 
captured by the camera. 

Sulzer has opinions. He has them on all subjects that 
a public man ought to have them. You do not have to 
drag them out of him, nor does he load you up with them 
faster than you can digest them. He evidently believes 
heartily in what is known as "good fellowship/' And by 
good fellowship I mean the warm communion of men in 
mental pursuits ; not in the insane sense of shoulder-slap- 
ping and front name calling, but in the unaffectedness 
that betokens sincerity, in the cordiality that portrays 
amiability, in the low-voiced manner that indicates in- 
tention to sometimes do some listening to what the other 
fellow has to say. 

Sulzer — if you don't happen to know him by sight — is 
not a classically beautiful man, because his features are 
broken up into these rugged juts of force, those abrupt 
bubbles of intensity, which tend to spoil the smooth even, 
waxen symmetry known as ''regular features." Sulzer is 
a man, however, you'd believe and trust from the jump. 
You'd not doubt what he told you, and if he told you 
he'd do a thing you wouldn't give 5 cents to have it 

34 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



guaranteed. You wouldn't need to. Sulzer inclines to 
the sandy or auburn complexion ; his head is large, brow- 
ful, his eyes big and full of seeing power; he looks at 
you when he talks and he talks at you, too. Sulzer 
doesn't pose; is free and off-hand, frank and to the 
point ; he is in Washington to sit in Congress ; he sits in 
Congress to represent his New York district, and he rep- 
resents it with brains, intrepidity, squareness and fidelity. 

I can easily understand why Sulzer isn't regarded with 
that seriousness that one would expect to attach to one 
who has been nearly all his life identified with public 
affairs. He is too democratic, too urbane, too much 
everybody's friend, too charitable and generous and free 
and cordial ; doesn't hedge himself about enough to pro- 
tect himself from more or less imposition that must be, 
and doubtless has been, detrimental to him. 

It isn't my duty to give Sulzer advice, but for a public 
man he is unusually approachable. Of course that's the 
temper and mould of the man, and it has recommenda- 
tions in it, but it has disadvantages as well. And when 
I hear Sulzer criticised I realize that it all arises from 
his super-candor, frankness, almost self-sacrificing readi- 
ness to do and be for others. In some respects this isn't 
always good policy. It makes people misunderstand you. 
It gives you a reputation for being superficial. It tends 
to lighten your public weight, whereas it ought to work 
just the other way. 

But I didn't call on Sulzer to interview him, ask for 
his picture, and much to his credit, didn't see any pic- 
tures of him anywhere about. I believe the editor is 
going to print Mr. Sulzer's picture. If he does it isn't 
my fault. 

I do not consider Sulzer an interviewable sort of man. 
That is to say, his views and opinions need the telling of 
them quite as much as they need be told. I know Sulzer 
has a reputation as a speechmaker ; that he is in demand 
in elections; that he has a fame as a public talker. I 
never heard him make an address, so can't express a per- 
sonal opinion. But he can't talk on his feet any more 
naturally, consistently and entertainingly than he can at 
his ease in a chair, in a quiet room, uninterrupted, un- 



36 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



guided by any interviewing influences, knowing he is not 
talking for publication, than when he is talking on his 
favorite topic — and I know it's his favorite theme by the 
way he handled it — the great city and the great interests 
of New York. 

Although Sulzer had some huge thinking task on his 
desk when I went in, he entered into the zest of our 
little chat with that luxurious indulgence of his mind in 
the pastime of a bit of relaxation offered by my visit. 
Maybe he cussed me under his breath for coming. Maybe 
my coming was at an inopportune time. But he didn't 
show it. He was gracious, cordial, clever, plain as an 
old shoe, as they put it, and the clock struck eleven be- 
fore I knew it. 

So I would intimate to you if you live in Sulzer's dis- 
trict, if you are one of his constituents (and if you are 
not, for that matter, the lesson is just as pat in any 
event), that as Congressmen go, as public men go, as 
official life goes, Sulzer is one of rare industry, applica- 
tion, approachableness, sincerity, sturdy character, con- 
scientiousness. I found him at home! That meant a 
good deal to me. I found him at work! That meant 
more. If you knew the public life pace you'd appreciate 
this maybe more than you will. 

Washington has — and has always had — its coterie of 
sporty Congressmen. They can't all be like Daniel Web- 
ster, you know, who drank brandy and played cards all 
night with Henry Clay before he made his great reply 
to Hayne. And Webster never saw the day he worked 
as hard for his constituency as Sulzer works for his. I'm 
not formulating any comparisons between Webster and 
Sulzer. I'm merely recording in Sulzer's favor certain 
personal peculiarities of Sulzer that are all right, that his 
New York friends may well be proud of, and which do 
the law-making work in the Capitol essential good. 

Sulzer and I didn't talk politics in any personal sense, 
so what he looks forward to I haven't the remotest idea. 
I was asked by a friend of his to try and meet him some 
time. "Some time" was that very quiet evening, unan- 
nounced, unprepared. I enjoyed it. Did Sulzer? Well, 
I know not. 



LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD. 



Mr. Sulzer is the author of the law to compel the Gov- 
ernment to keep the Statue of Liberty in New York 
Harbor lit from sundown to sunrise every day in the 
year. 

Speaking in favor of the bill, in the House of Repre- 
sentatives, April i, 1902, Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, on the 1st day of March this year, by 
order of the Light-House Board, Liberty light, on Bed- 
loe's Island, in the Harbor of New York, was extin- 
guished. Just why the Light-House Board issued that 
order I know not, and no one whom I have talked to 
about it has been able to give a satisfactory explanation. 
In my opinion there is no good reason for that order. 
The light from Liberty's torch should not be put out. 
It is essential to commerce, but more than that, it repre- 
sents a patriotic sentiment that should never be ex- 
tinguished. 

The great statue of Liberty Enlightening the World 
was unveiled on the 28th day of October, 1886. It was 
a splendid gift from the Republic of France to the Re- 
public of the United States. It was intended to be a 
bond of sympathy, of fraternal feeling, of undying mem- 
ories, of lasting friendship, of eternal good will between 
the two great Republics. It meant sympathy for repub- 
lics and republican institutions all over the world. It 
glorified liberty and fortified freedom. It was to be and 
it ever should be a great beacon light for democracy, dis- 
pelling the darkness of tyranny and welcoming to our 
hospitable shores the oppressed of every land. It was 
Bartholdi's apotheosis of liberty; a gift from the greatest 
Republic in Europe to the greatest Republic in all the 
world. 

Its light should shine for all the ages. It should never 

37 



38 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



go out while liberty lives. It links the past with the 
present, and should be prophetic of the future. 

At the unveiling of that magnificent monument to lib- 
erty, the President of the United States, the Cabinet offi- 
cers, distinguished members of Congress, members of 
the legislatures of States, mayors of cities, judges, gov- 
ernors, and leading citizens from all parts of the country 
were present. It was a "red-letter day" in the history 
of this Republic. There was music, and eloquence, and 
ceremony. It commemorated one of the great civic events 
in our annals. It was an imposing celebration, and the 
hand on the dial plate of time pointed to liberty and the 
freedom of man. As such a beacon it has stood by day 
and shone by night. 

It has meant much to us in many ways. It has stood 
for all the ideals of the Republic, and a bright harbinger 
to the weary immigrant after a tedious voyage. It has 
shone resplendent from the day it was unveiled until the 
ist of last March, and then for some inexplicable reason 
the Light-House Board put out the light. What a com- 
mentary ! In the face of what is now going on here, in 
the Orient, and elsewhere, how the eloquent words of the 
orators on that occasion mock us. What a difference 
between then and now ! Things have changed. 

Mr. Speaker, the bill I offered should be adopted by 
the House. It should be passed without a dissenting vote. 
Patriotism prompts it, and we should see to it that the 
light of Liberty should burn as brightly as ever. I do not 
know how much money is necessary to clean the statue, 
fittingly care for it, and properly light it, but my bill 
appropriates $50,000, or so much thereof as may be 
necessary, gives the proper authorities discretion, and 
they will spend no more than is absolutely required. All 
I ask Is to keep the light burning. That request should 
meet with no opposition from any patriotic citizen. 

Since 1886 it has been a light-house essential to com- 
merce and navigation in the harbor of New York. It is 
on all the charts. It aids to mark the channel, and every 
mariner, every seafaring man, has looked for it and 
recognized it, going in or coming out of the magnificent 
harbor of New York. Why is it that after all this time 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 39 



this light must now go out? Is liberty dead? I hope 
not. I am a friend of liberty here and everywhere. As 
a citizen of this Republic, I take a just pride in the gran- 
deur of Liberty Enlightening the World and for all it 
typifies here and symbolizes to people in other lands. I 
would not darken its effulgent light, but I would make it 
burn brighter and brighter as the years come and go. It 
stands at the gates of America, a magnificent altar to 
man's faith in liberty, whose light should penetrate the 
darkness of tyranny throughout the world and guide men 
from oppression to our hospitable shores of freedom. 

Sir, I feel deeply on this subject. We will be derelict 
to duty, false to all the Republic stands for, and recreant 
to the memories of a century and the friendship of 
France, which has existed since our Revolutionary strug- 
gle, if we now permit that great statue of Liberty to 
stand in the darkness. What a flood of sentiment ap- 
peals to us in this matter. Can we so soon forget the 
past? Is recollection dead and gratitude a dream? Are 
the words of the fathers a hollow mockery ? Is our past a 
lie, or shall liberty truly enlighten the world ? I trust the 
response will be for liberty and in favor of continuing 
the light on Bedloes Island, in favor of keeping that 
great statue of Liberty Enlightening the World illumined 
from sundown to sunrise, so that it will be not only a 
guide to mariners, but a great beacon for all of liberty 
enlightening the world. 



.THE BEAUTIES OF YELLOWSTONE PARK. 



From Mr. Sulzer's Speech in Congress, April 2, 1902, for 
the Extension and Preservation of Yellowstone Park. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: Yellowstone Park is a wonderland. It 
beggars description. The most eloquent tongue cannot 
describe its surpassing wonders, and the gifted pen of 
the most imaginative poet can not adequately picture the 
infinite variety of its sublime beauties. After you have 
read and heard all that mortal man can say, you must 
see it yourself to fully appreciate all its glories and start- 
ling revelations. It never palls; the eye never tires. 
From the time you leave Livingston until you return, the 
scenery is an inspiration and simply indescribable. It is 
one long panorama of grandeur — beautiful beyond com- 
parison — a symphony of colors, a combination of archi- 
tectural miracles. 

Take it all in all, Yellowstone Park is the greatest, the 
grandest, the most picturesque, and the most marvelous 
picture in nature's art gallery — painted in all the radiant 
colors of the rainbow by the unerring hand of the In- 
finite — sculptured by the Supreme Creator of the uni- 
verse — a testifying demonstration that the Great Jehovah 
liveth. 

The establishment of this magnificent park, to be for- 
ever safe from the destroying vandal, and sacred for all 
time from the devastating hand of greedy commercial- 
ism, does great credit to the farseeing statesmanship of 
the men who conceived it, and to those who are now 
faithfully executing the trust for the benefit of millions 
yet unborn. 

This national park was dedicated to man. It belongs 
to the people. No vandal must ever be permitted to dese- 



40 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 41 

crate it. Every citizen of the Republic should behold its 
glories and witness the beauties of nature's most perfect 
picture. I hope more people every year will visit this in- 
spiring park, and I know they will go away benefited in 
mind and body. As the years come and go it will become 
more and more a sanitarium for the afflicted, an art gal- 
lery for the lovers of the beautiful, a Bohemia for the 
lotus-eating dreamers of the Better Day, and a great 
national playground, the recreation place of millions of 
the citizens of the Republic, where the rich and the poor, 
the great and the small shall have an equal right to com- 
mune with nature in her primeval wonders and in all 
her pristine glories. 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH FOR JUSTICE TO THE 
NEGRO SOLDIERS. 



(Delivered in the House of Representatives, Saturday, 
February 27, 1909.) 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker: I am in favor of doing justice to the 
negro soldiers of Companies B, C and D, of the Twenty- 
fifth U. S. Infantry. I want to give these men their day 
in court. They are entitled to this and they never have 
had this opportunity of proving their innocence. If one 
be guilty let him be punished, but the innocent should be 
re-enlisted in the army and given all their rights and 
emoluments. The innocent should not be punished for 
the guilty. I voted in favor of this bill in the Committee 
on Military Affairs, and I shall vote to pass it through 
the House. No fair-minded man can consistently oppose 
this measure. It is honest and it is just. 

It will be justice to the innocent men and go far to as- 
certain the guilty. If we fail to do substantial justice in 
the case, we will be false to ourselves and false to every 
principle that we revere. If we refuse to do impartial 
justice to the colored soldiers who are innocent, we will 
violate every tenet of our boasted love of fair play. In 
my opinion, if this bill becomes a law, no guilty man will 
be able to re-enlist in the army, and no innocent man 
should be prevented from doing so. 

I have confidence that the board of inquiry created by 
this bill will be composed of men of ability and of high 
character. I have no doubt that the board will do its full 
duty in the premises, and I believe no soldier will be re- 
enlisted until it is shown beyond a reasonable doubt that 
he is guiltless of any complicity in the Brownsville affair. 
I have no race prejudice in a matter where justice is con- 



42 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 43 



cerned. I want to say that I am now and always have 
been, and I trust always will be, in favor of equal and 
exact justice to all men — here and everywhere through- 
out the world — without regard to race or to creed. 

We must do justice in this matter. We cannot do less 
without stultifying ourselves and bringing our free insti- 
tutions into strange contrast with our performances. I 
w r ant to see justice done, and I hope the bill will pass. It 
is never too late to do justice. "For justice all seasons 
summer and all places a temple." 



AN ELOQUENT TRIBUTE TO THE JEWS. 



Mr. Sulzer Denounced Russia for Jewish Outrages, and 
Introduced the Resolution Protesting Against the 
Same. 

On December 18, 1905, Mr. Sulzer, speaking on his 
resolution, said in Congress: 

Mr. Speaker : I arraign Russia before the bar of civi- 
lization for great crimes against a common humanity. 
The Russian government is responsible for these out- 
rages on the Jews. 

Why should we refrain from aiding the Jew in Rus- 
sia? I say, in my judgment, it is the duty of our gov- 
ernment to condemn these Jewish atrocities and to pro- 
test against these unspeakable crimes against the Jewish 
people in Russia in words that cannot be misunderstood, 
and I believe that if we do, that if we pass this resolu- 
tion, that it will have the desired result and effectively 
put a stop to the Jewish outrages, atrocities and mas- 
sacres in Russia. That right we have ; let us exercise it. 
It will be a declaration to the Czar, and to the grand 
dukes, who are directly responsible for these crimes, that 
the House of Representatives of the United States sym- 
pathizes with the Russian Jews the same as we would 
with any other outraged and oppressed people, and that 
we are opposed to these race crimes and that the ruthless 
extermination of the Jews in Russia must cease. If this 
is all we can do, let us do it, and do it quickly ; and I be- 
lieve that if we do, our protest will be heard in St. Peters- 
burg and that the Russian government will quickly see to 
it that the wholesale butchery of Jewish communities is 
stopped. We cannot ignore these crimes against hu- 
manity. We cannot escape our responsibility. These in- 

44 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 45 



nocent victims are our brothers and our sisters — mankind 
throughout the world are one. A great and continuing 
crime against one race is the concern of all the other 
races. 

My heart goes out to the ravished and plundered and 
oppressed Jews in Russia. I grieve with those who 
grieve for the dead. I sympathize with the living and the 
terror-stricken. I have enlisted with all my soul in their 
cause, and in Congress and out of Congress I shall do all 
that I can to aid them to ameliorate their condition. I am 
not a bigot. I care naught for creed. I have no race 
prejudice. I stand for humanity, and a man is a man, for 
all that, to me. I have struggled all my life to help those 
who needed help, to do something to better the condi- 
tions of the poor and the humble, to aid oppressed hu- 
manity in every land and in every clime, and to raise the 
lowly to a higher plane and push them forward a step in 
the march of civilization. 

I am a friend of the Jews. It is, however, unnecessary 
for me, or any one else to eulogize the intrepid sons and 
the virtuous daughters of Israel. The Jew needs no 
eulogy. All he asks is justice. All he demands is equal 
opportunity and equality before the law. The records 
of his race from the dawn of time down to the present 
day is the history of the march of humanity along the 
highways of progress and the avenues of civilization. In 
all ages of the world the ostracized Jew has done his 
share for his fellowman, for enlightenment, for liberty, 
for freedom, for progress and for civilization — and he 
has done it all in the face of adverse circumstances. In 
science and in art, in literature and philanthropy, the Jew, 
in all lands and in all times, has written his name high 
in the temple of fame. In statesmanship and diplomacy, 
in law and in medicine, in ethics and philosophy, in re- 
search and discovery, the greatness of the Jew is and 
ever has been unchallenged. In commerce and in trade, 
in industry and husbandry, overcoming forces that would 
deter another, he has held his own in the vanguard of 
progress. Persecuted for thousands of years, he has sur- 
mounted all obstacles ; shunned for centuries, he has kept 
in the very front of the higher and the better civilization. 



46 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



In trial and in triumph, in sunshine and in storm, in war 
and in peace, on land and on sea. in all eras and in all 
places, the Jewish race has written its enduring name and 
its eternal fame all over the pages of human history. 



THE CHINESE REPUBLIC. 



Mr. Sulzer introduced and passed the Resolution in 
Congress congratulating the people of China on the es- 
tablishment of a Republic. 

Speaking in favor of the Resolution on February 29, 
1912, Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : By direction of the Committee on For- 
eign Affairs I ask unanimous consent for the present 
consideration of the joint resolution introduced by me, 
to congratulate the people of China on the establishment 
of the Chinese Republic, which I send to the Clerk's desk 
and ask to have read. This is a matter of some moment 
and I hope there will be no objection to it. It is re- 
ported unanimously from the Committee on Foreign Af- 
fairs. 

The Speaker: The gentleman from New York asks 
unanimous consent for the present consideration of 
House joint resolution 254, which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read House joint resolution 254, congratu- 
lating the people of China on their assumption of the 
powers, duties, and responsibilities of self-government, 
as follows : 

"Whereas the Chinese nation has successfully asserted 
the fact that sovereignty is vested in the people, and 
has recognized the principle that government derives 
its authority from the consent of the governed, thereby 
terminating a condition of internal strife ; and 

"Whereas the American people are inherently and by 
tradition sympathetic with all efforts to adopt the ideals 
and institutions of representative government; there- 
fore be it 

"Resolved, etc., That the United States of America con- 
gratulates the people of China on their assumption of the 

47 



48 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



powers, duties, and responsibilities of self-government, 
and expresses the confident hope that in the adoption and 
maintenance of a republican form of government the 
rights, liberties, and happiness of the Chinese people will 
be secure and the progress of the country insured." 

Mr. Sulzer: Mr. Speaker, the joint resolution just 
read by the Clerk congratulating the people of China on 
assuming the duties and the responsibilities of self-gov- 
ernment speaks for itself and needs no apology and no 
explanation from any patriotic American. It should pass 
the Congress of the United States without a dissenting 
vote. 

It is fitting and proper that the people of the United 
States of America should congratulate the people of 
China on their assumption of the powers, duties, and re- 
sponsibilities of self-government, and to express the con- 
fident hope that in the adoption and maintenance of a 
republican form of government the rights, liberties and 
happiness of the Chinese people will be secure and the 
progress of the country insured. 

The resolution is in diplomatic form according to cus- 
tom, and in no way contravenes the status quo in the 
Orient or interferes with the protocol existing between 
the allied powers. Its adoption by Congress will be in 
line with our time-honored precedents. 

The establishment of a republic in China is a great 
world event— momentous in the annals of human his- 
tory. Its accomplishment speaks volumes for the mod- 
eration and the patriotism of the Chinese people, chal- 
lenges the admiration of civilization, and gives renewed 
evidence of the growth and the progress of the cause 
of representative government. 

I believe the people of China are capable of self-gov- 
ernment. I reassert that governments derive their just 
powers from the consent of the governed. I feel confi- 
dent that the adoption of this resolution will meet with 
the approval of the liberty-loving people of our country. 
I indulge the hope that it will be followed ere long by 
Executive action officially recognizing the Republic of 
China. Long live the Republic of China! 



MR. SULZER THE SOLDIER'S FRIEND AND 
CHAMPION. 



From Speech in Congress February 23, 1910. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : Let me say here again what I have often 
said before, that I am now, ever have been, and always 
will be the true and sincere friend of the men who saved 
our country in the greatest hour of its peril. We owe 
them a debt we can never pay. They are entitled to our 
everlasting gratitude, and gratitude, my friends, is the 
fairest flower that sheds its perfume in the human heart. 
Let us be grateful lest we forget. My sympathy will 
always be with the brave boys who went to the front in 
the greatest crisis in all our country's history. 

I introduced this bill for the boys in blue, because I 
am a friend of the soldiers who saved the Union, and I 
want to reward them while they live. Nobody here 
can ever say, and nobody outside of these halls will ever 
be able to say, that during all the years I have been a 
member of this House I ever voted against a just bill 
in the interests of the soldiers and sailors who saved the 
Union. This is a rich country; this is the land of lib- 
erty; this is the grand Republic; and it is all so to a 
large extent on account of what the brave aiid gallant 
men who marched from the North did in the great 
struggle for the Union. 

We should be grateful to the soldiers who fought that 
great war to a successful end. I cannot bring my ideas 
in favor of this bill down to the level of mere dollars 
and cents. I place my views on higher ground. I want 
this bill to pass for patriotism — the noblest sentiment 
that animates the soul of man. I say that there is no 
gift in the Republic too great for the men who saved 
the Republic. 

49 



MR, SULZER'S ELOQUENT TRIBUTE TO 
MAJOR GENERAL DANIEL E. SICKLES. 



From Speech in Congress, April 15, 1910. 

Mr. Speaker: Theie is much to commend my bill to 
give General Sickles a higher rank, and many reasons 
why it should become a law. General Daniel E. Sickles 
was one of the most gallant and distinguished officers 
in the Army of the Potomac and merits, in the opinion 
of those most competent to testify, any honor the Re- 
public he helped to save can bestow on him in the sun- 
set of his long and useful and patriotic life. He is the 
one heroic figure now living of the great civil conflict, 
and the last of the great corps commanders of the war 
for the L'nion. 

General Sickles is now on the retired list as a major- 
general, and if this bill becomes a law it will simply place 
him on the "retired list" a grade higher, namely, that of 
lieutenant-general. In my opinion, General Sickles de- 
serves this honor, and I can hardly believe that any 
person familiar with the great services he rendered in 
the crucial hour of the life of the Nation will begrudge 
him the distinction. 

War experts the world over have testified that Genera! 
Sickles is the hero of the battle of Gettysburg; and his 
bravery in that terrible struggle has stirred the heart of 
every patriotic American, and is one of the brightest 
pages in the history of the Republic. He deserves well 
of his country, and will ever be remembered by a grate- 
ful people. 

What an eventful career Daniel E. Sickles has had. 
He was born in New York City on the 20th day of 
October, 1825, and is now in his eighty-fifth year. He 
received an academic education, studied law, and was 

50 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



51 



admitted to the bar in 1846, and began practice in New 
York City. His illustrious career typifies the opportuni- 
ties of the Republic. It is a lesson to every American 
schoolboy. In 1847 he was elected to the legislature of 
New York, and quickly took a prominent part in its af- 
fairs. In 1849 he joined the Twelfth Regiment of the 
National Guard of the State of New York, and in 185 1 
became the major of the regiment. In 1853 he was 
made corporation attorney of New York City, and in 
the same year was appointed secretary to the American 
legation at London, and accompanied James Buchanan 
to England. He returned to New York in 1855, an d 
in the fall of that year was elected to the Senate of the 
State of New York, in which he became a conspicuous 
figure as its most brilliant orator. In 1856 he was 
elected to Congress. He was re-elected in 1858, and 
served until March 3, 1861. It is doubtful if there be 
many living who saw earlier service in this House. 

At the beginning of the civil war, as I have stated, at 
his own expense, he raised, organized, drilled, and 
equipped at Camp Scott, on Staten Island, in the bay 
of New York, the famous Excelsior Brigade of United 
States Volunteers, and was commissioned by President 
Lincoln Colonel of the first of the five regiments. On 
September 3, 1861, he was made a brigadier-general of 
volunteers. He commanded his brigade in the Army of 
the Potomac and gained great distinction in the battles 
of Fair Oaks and Malvern Hill. His brigade also saw 
service in the seven days' fight before Richmond, and 
afterward bore a conspicuous part in the Antietam cam- 
paign. He succeeded General Hooker in command of 
the second division of the Third Army Corps and greatly 
distinguished himself at Fredericksburg. 

On the reorganization of the Army of the Potomac 
under Hooker in February, 1863, he was assigned to 
the command of the Third Army Corps and was ap- 
pointed major-general on the 7th day of March, 1863, 
his commission dating from the 29th day of November, 
1862. He displayed great gallantry at Chancellorsville, 
gaining the first success of the day by cutting off the 
rear of Jackson's forces and arresting a general panic 



52 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

amongst the retreating artillery and troops of the 
Eleventh Corps and resisting Stonewall Jackson's at- 
tack with a skill and determination that won the admira- 
tion of friend and foe. 

At Gettysburg his corps was posted on the left flank 
near Little Round Top. He advanced to the front on 
more elevated ground, which he thought desirable to 
hold, and in this position was assailed by General James 
Longstreet's entire assaulting column, while General 
John B. Hood endeavored to gain the unoccupied slope 
of Little Round Top. In the desperate struggle that 
followed Sickles's Third Corps effectively aided in pre- 
serving that important position, but was greatly shat- 
tered by the onset of overwhelming numbers under 
Longstreet. After the line was broken General Ambrose 
P. Hill followed the confederate advantage with an at- 
tack on Sickles's right, during which General Sickles 
lost a leg, but remained on the field in command of the 
troops — an act of heroism seldom witnessed in all the 
history of war, and for which he received the thanks of 
Congress and the congressional "medal of honor/' 

In my opinion, General Sickles deserves well of his 
country, and the brave soldiers in the North, as well as 
the gallant men of the Southland, who admire bravery 
and heroism, are anxious to cheer his declining days as 
the shadows darken with this additional recognition of 
his valor and his patriotism. This is especially just, 
when it is considered that the rank of lieutenant-general 
has been conferred upon Bates, and Young, and Corbin, 
and Chaffee, and others, some of whom performed very 
little service during the civil war. Why discriminate 
against Sickles? He was the greatest of them all. 

Five promotions to the grade of lieutenant-general 
have been made by Congress since 1900, and these of- 
ficers all gained their chief rank during or since the 
war with Spain, whilst only three officers who gained 
distinction in the civil war were raised to the grade of 
lieutenant-general. It is plain, therefore, that this bill 
will not make a "bad precedent," but, on the contrary, 
this bill cannot be a precedent, because there is no other 
among the major-generals on the retired list whose fflt&r 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 53 



tary record approaches that of General Sickles. The 
true soldiers of the country, North and South, the griz- 
zled veterans of the great conflict, petition Congress to 
pass this bill for General Sickles. Large numbers of 
the surviving officers of the Civil War desire to have this 
additional honor conferred upon the victor of Gettys- 
burg, and I confidently submit that a grateful people, 
who realize the sacrifices Sickles made, will know the 
reason why if this bill fails to pass. 

My friends, just a few words more. General Sickles's 
career is finished. He is a very old man. His great 
work is done. He has run the race. He has fought the 
good fight. He can live at best but a brief time. Who 
is there so unpatriotic that he would refuse this honor 
to this grand old battle-scarred veteran, with his gallant 
and heroic record? 



THE PULASKI MONUMENT. 



Mr. Sulzer's Speech in Favor of Erecting a Monu- 
ment in Washington to General Casimir 
Pulaski. 

In the House of Representatives, luly I, 1902. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: Monuments, sir, have been erected by 
vote of Congress in the city of Washington to many of 
the great Revolutionary heroes of this country. And 
among those that served America in the darkest days 
of the Revolution Casimir Pulaski figures as one of the 
most distinguished officers and martyrs. But no statue 
to the memory of Pulaski, his noble deeds and high- 
minded patriotism, appears here, although it should have 
been one of the first statues erected in Washington. It 
is a legacy bequeathed to us by the Continental Congress. 

Away back in November, 1779, the Continental Con- 
gress, upon receiving notification of the death of General 
Pulaski through Major-General Lincoln, passed the fol- 
lowing resolution : 

"Resolved, That a monument be erected to the mem- 
ory of Brigadier-General Count Pulaski, and that a com- 
mittee of three be appointed to bring in a resolution for 
that purpose." 

This resolution was never acted on, and it has come to 
the Congress of the United States as a sacred obliga- 
tion from the Continental Congress. We should act on 
it without further delay. 

We have erected in Jackson Park, fronting the White 
House, a statue to General Lafayette. That statue oc- 
cupies a prominent corner. On the other corner we have 



54 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 55 



just unveiled a magnificent statue to General Rocham- 
beau, and the two remaining corners of that park should 
be graced with the statues of General Pulaski and Gen- 
eral Steuben. I hope this course will be followed. It 
w r ould be, it seems to me, entirely proper and exceed- 
ingly consistent. 

General Pulaski was born in Poland in 1747. As a 
mere lad he fought in his native country until its down- 
fall, and then came to America to take up again the bat- 
tle for liberty, until he fell at the siege of Savannah, on 
October 9, 1779. Many of his countrymen have, like 
Pulaski, immigrated to America to make this their home, 
and their numbers now are in the millions. They have 
been asking for the erection of this statue to their coun- 
tryman, and many petitions have been received by Con- 
gress, urging that some action be taken on this bill to 
erect to his memory a suitable statue. 

He deserves it. He was a lover of mankind, a friend 
of human freedom, and a believer in the rights of man. 
He w r as a brave soldier, a gallant officer, and he fought 
at home and here for liberty. He was one of the heroes 
of the Revolution, and he died for American indepen- 
dence. What he did for liberty w r ill live forever. 

He deserves this statue to perpetuate his memory 
among the people he helped to make free and for whom 
he sacrificed his life on the battlefield. It can be said 
of him and of his tragic death what a great poet has said 
of the sad death of his illustrious countryman — to para- 
phrase the couplet — 

"Hope for a season bade the patriots farewell, 
And Freedom shriek'd when Count Pulaski fell." 



THE STEUBEN MONUMENT. 



Mr. Sulzer's Speech in Favor of Erecting a Monu- 
ment in Washington to General Von Steuben. 

In the House of Representatives, March 9, 1902. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker: General Von Steuben was a soldier. 
He drilled and disciplined the ragged Army of the 
colonists. He worked behind the scenes, but the work 
he did was of the utmost importance, and made it pos- 
sible for the Continental Army to cope with the disci- 
plined and experienced soldiers of England and win 
American independence. 

The career of General Steuben is a most interesting 
and absorbing history of an exciting life. He was born 
November 15, 1730, at Magdeburg, a large Prussian 
fortress on the Elbe. At that time his father was cap- 
tain in the Prussian engineers, and when he was called 
to service in the Crimea the son accompanied him. In 
1740 he returned with his father to Prussia. In 1744, 
when scarcely 14 years of age, during the war of the 
Austrian Succession, he was present at the siege of 
Prague. Thus from his earliest years Steuben was fa- 
miliar with soldiers and things pertaining to war. 

In the Seven Years' War so greatly did he distin- 
guish himself that he attracted the attention of Frederick 
the Great, who appointed Steuben aide-de-camp on his 
personal staff. He was one of six talented young officers 
whom the King personally instructed and initiated into 
the most abstruse branches of military art. The distinc- 
tion of being thus chosen is convincing proof of Steu- 
ben's merit and promise. With Frederick the Great 
neither high birth nor family influence had any weight 

56 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 57 



in the selection of his military favorites; talent and fit- 
ness were the only recommendation to favor. 

In 1764, having resigned from the service of Prussia, 
Steuben accepted the office of grand marshal of the court 
of the Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen, the honorable 
and responsible duties of which he discharged with great 
credit for ten years. For some years the dignified tran- 
quillity of court life furnished agreeable repose for him, 
tired as he was of the bivouac and the camp. But it 
could not satisfy his ardent and impetuous temperament 
or induce him to renounce the active duties from which 
for a season he had withdrawn. So he began to look 
around for a fitting opportunity to re-enter active mili- 
tary service. 

He left Europe, where he had won hard-earned dis- 
tinction and fame — where, if he was not opulent, he had 
at least a sufficient competence— to serve a country en- 
gaged in an obstinate, exhausting, and hitherto unsuc- 
cessful war, where his prospects of professional ad- 
vancement were by no means assured, and which offered 
no inducements of a pecuniary or material nature. Con- 
fident in himself, urged by high and generous motives, 
he determined to offer his sword to a people struggling 
for their rights and liberties. He made no conditions. 
He bargained for no reward. 

Arriving at Portsmouth, N. H., on the first day of 
December, 1777, Steuben, on December 6, wrote to the 
Continental Congress a letter which is worthy of being 
quoted here in its entirety, as illustrating the spirit of the 
man. It was as follows : 

"Honorable Gentlemen : The honor of serving a 
nation engaged in defending its rights and liberties was 
the motive that brought me to this continent. I ask 
neither riches nor titles. I am come here from the re- 
motest end of Germany, at my own expense, and have 
given up honorable and lucrative rank. I have made no 
condition with your deputies in France, nor shall I make 
any with you. My only ambition is to serve you as a 
volunteer, to deserve the confidence of your General-in- 
Chief, and to follow him in all his operations as I have 



58 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



done during seven campaigns with the King of Prussia. 

"Two and twenty years spent in such a school seems 
to give me a right of thinking myself among the number 
of experienced officers, and if I am possessed of the ac- 
quirements in the art of war they will be much more 
prized by me if I can employ them in the service of a 
republic such as I hope soon to see America. I should 
willingly purchase at the expense of my blood the honor 
of having my name enrolled among those of the defend- 
ers of your liberty. Your gracious acceptance will be 
sufficient for me, and I ask no other favor than to be 
received among your officers. I venture to hope that you 
will grant this my request, and that you will be so good 
as to send me your orders to Boston, where I shall await 
them and take suitable measures in accordance." 

In a letter to Washington, of the same date, he said : 

"Sir: The inclosed copy of a letter, the original of 
which I shall have the honor to present to Your Excel- 
lency, will inform you of the motives that brought me 
over to this land. I shall only add to it that the object 
of my greatest ambition is to render the country all the 
service in my power, and to deserve the title of a citizen 
of America by fighting for the cause of your liberty. 
If the distinguished ranks in w T hich I have seen service 
in Europe should be an obstacle, I had rather serve un- 
der Your Excellency as a volunteer than to be an object 
of discontent to such deserving officers as have already 
distinguished themselves among you. 

"Such being the sentiments I have always professed, I 
dare hope that the respectable Congress of the United 
States of America will accept my services. I could say, 
moreover, were it not for the fear of offending your 
modesty, that Your Excellency is the only person under 
whom, after having served the King of Prussia, I could 
wish to follow a profession to the study of which I have 
w 7 holly devoted myself. I intend to go to Boston in a 
few days, where I shall present my letters to Mr. Han- 
cock, member of Congress, and there I shall await Your 
Excellency's orders." 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 59 



At Boston Steuben was entertained by John Hancock, 
who had just retired from the presidency of the Conti- 
nental Congress, and here, after waiting five weeks, he 
received Washington's answer to his letter. It advised 
him to report at once to Congress, then sitting at York, 
Pa., since it belonged exclusively to that body to enter 
into negotiations with him. 

The fame of Steuben had preceded him to York, and 
he was cordially received by Congress. A committee of 
three members was appointed to confer with him and 
ascertain the conditions on which he was willing to serve 
the United States, and whether he had made any ar- 
rangements with the American Deputies in France. 

He said that he had made no agreement with them, 
nor was it his intention to accept any rank or pay ; that 
he wished to join the Army as a volunteer, and to render 
such services as the Commander-in-Chief should think 
him capable of. The Continental Congress, through its 
president, Mr. Laurens, accepted his generous proposi- 
tion and directed him to report to General Washington 
at Valley Forge. Here Steuben began a work the value 
of which can scarcely be overestimated. 

He made the patriotic army a disciplined and effective 
force — the drilled corps that ultimately won the war for 
freedom. He worked incessantly to do this under the 
greatest difficulties and most adverse circumstances, but 
he succeeded, and the credit for it is all his own. Ameri- 
can history some day will do him full justice and give 
him a high place in our temple of fame. 

On the 30th of April, 1778, about six weeks after 
Steuben had commenced his active duties, Washington 
made the following report to Congress : 

"The extensive ill consequences arising from a want 
of uniformity in discipline and maneuvers throughout 
the Army have long occasioned me to wish for the es- 
tablishment of a well-organized inspectorship, and the 
concurrence of Congress in the same views has induced 
me to set on foot a temporary institution, which, from 
the success which has hitherto attended it, gives me the 
most flattering expectations. 



6o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



"Baron Steuben's length of service in the first mili- 
tary school of Europe and his former rank pointed him 
out as a person peculiarly qualified to be at the head of 
this department. This appeared the least exceptionable 
way of introducing him into the Army, and the one that 
would give him the most ready opportunity of displaying 
his talent. I therefore proposed to him to undertake the 
office of Inspector-General, which he agreed to do with 
the greatest cheerfulness, and has performed the duties 
of it with a zeal and intelligence equal to our wishes. 

"I should do injustice if I were to be longer silent with 
regard to the merits of Baron Steuben. His knowledge 
of his profession, added to the zeal which he has dis- 
played since he began upon the functions of his office, 
leads me to consider him an acquisition to the service, 
and to recommend him to the attention of Congress." 

The "recommendation" of Washington was that Steu- 
ben be made Inspector-General of the American Army 
with the rank of major-general. The recommendation 
of Washington was followed by Congress, and by act of 
May 5, 1778, Steuben was created a major-general and 
assigned to the duties of Inspector-General of the Army. 

Mr. Speaker, such in brief is the story of General 
Steuben, one of the bravest and most valuable officers 
of the Continental Army. He served throughout the 
Revolutionary war and was of inestimable service to 
Washington, who never failed to testify to his abilities 
and the great work he had done in the cause of Ameri- 
can independence. 

When peace came and the United States had taken 
her place among the nations of the world, this battle- 
scarred veteran — grand old General Steuben — -who had 
been a tower of strength to George Washington from 
Valley Forge to Yorktown, quietly resigned his commis- 
sion in the Army of the United States and retired to a 
log hut in the backwoods of the State of New York — 
away from the crowded marts of trade and the peopled 
thoroughfares of towns and cities— to live and die in 
peace. 

He rendered great service to this country in its most 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 61 



trying" hour, in the darkest days of its struggle for inde- 
pendence, and in his name, in the name of all that he 
did and accomplished, in the name of the Continental 
Congress, in the name of honor and gratitude, I appeal 
to every member of this House to vote for this bill to 
erect to his memory a fitting statue to commemorate his 
heroic deeds and to perpetuate forever his imperishable 
glory. 



THE EARTHQUAKE IN ITALY. 



SPEECH IN PART OF CONGRESSMAN WILL- 
IAM SULZER, OF NEW YORK, AT THE 
ITALIAN-AMERICAN RELIEF MEETING 
HELD IN MADISON SQUARE GARDEN, 
JANUARY 7, 1910. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

The calamitous earthquake shock which overwhelmed 
fair Messina and beautiful Calabria, in Southern Italy, 
is without doubt the most terrible catastrophe of its kind 
in loss of life and destruction of property that has oc- 
curred in modern times. No tongue can tell, and no pen 
can picture, the awful scenes of that heartrending 
tragedy. It has appalled civilization. All the world 
weeps with Italy. Thousands and thousands of lives 
were blotted out in almost the twinkling of an eye, and 
thousands and thousands of others have been injured and 
are now homeless and in great destitution. The woe and 
the want there is simply indescribable. The loss of hu- 
man life is appalling and the misery entailed by the tragic 
calamity has aroused the heartfelt sympathy of the civ- 
ilized world. Every nation is doing its best to help Italy 
in her hour of disaster, and no country, I am proud to 
say, is doing more than our own — the great Republic of 
the L T nited States. God bless our dear land, God succor 
Sunny Italy. 

The world owes much to Italy — civilization can never 
pay the debt. For two thousand years and more she has 
been in the vanguard of the world's progress. Destroy 
what Italy has done for mankind and you will leave a 
void that will never be filled. In commerce and trade; 
in discovery and in invention : in science and in research ; 
in law and in medicine ; in art and in literature ; in phi- 

62 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 63 



lanthropy and in philosophy ; in diplomacy and in states- 
manship; in war and in peace — on land and sea — in all 
eras and in all places — the Italian race has written its 
eternal fame all over the pages of human history. 

Let us aid Italy in her hour of sorrow. Let us be 
grateful to Italy for what Italy has done for us — for 
mankind. Gratitude is the fairest flower that sheds its 
perfume in the sympathetic soul of man. Italy has given 
the world all she can. Let us of America in a spirit of 
gratitude give Italy all that we can to relieve her stricken 
children in their day of direst distress. 

It has been said that one touch of nature makes the 
whole world kin; and that sentiment was never better 
exemplified than at the present time, when the people of 
all countries are doing everything in their power to ren- 
der such aid as they can to the stricken people of South- 
ern Italy. It proves that the world is growing better, 
and kindlier, and more brotherly. All hail the Brother- 
hood of Man ! 



A TRIBUTE TO THE LETTER CARRIERS. 



Mr. Sulzer was the author of the Letter Carriers' Bill, 
and after a ten-years' fight in Congress passed it. 

The following brief extract is from one of his 
speeches for the letter carriers. 

How poorly, how miserably the letter carriers are 
paid ! Under the present law they do not, and cannot, 
earn enough, no matter how long they have been in the 
service of the government or how many hours a day 
they labor, to keep body and soul together. And what 
do they get ? A mere pittance a month that is not enough 
to economically support one man. It is a disgrace, a 
crying shame. Many of these letter carriers have wives 
and children — little homes — and these wives and chil- 
dren in many cases are to-day in want. 

These men are the most efficient, the hardest worked 
in all the country's service, and the poorest paid. The 
letter carriers of the land are compelled to toil day in 
and day out — in sunshine and in storm, in winter and in 
summer, in all kinds of weather — sometimes eighteen 
hours out of the twenty-four, and taking all other em- 
ployees in the various departments of the Federal Gov- 
ernment as a basis for comparison, it cannot be denied 
that the letter carriers render the most and hardest work 
for the smallest remuneration. Let us be just to these 
honest, hard-working, and faithful men. 



6 4 



FOR COLUMBUS DAY. 



Mr. Sulzer Is the Author of the Bill to Make 
October 12 a Legal Holiday to Be Known as 
"Columbus Day/' 

Speaking in favor of the bill in the House of Repre- 
sentatives on April 28, 1906, Mr. Sulzer said: 

This bill of mine to make the 12th day of October in 
each year and every year a legal holiday, and to be 
known as 'Columbus Day/ was prepared and introduced 
by me in response to what I believe to be a general senti- 
ment prevailing throughout the country. 

In my judgment the greatest event in a thousand 
years, in the history of civilization, and for the benefit 
of humanity, was the discovery of America by Christo- 
pher Columbus on the 12th day of October, 1492. 

It wrote a great epoch page in the earth's history, 
changed the map of the world, revolutionized science, 
lifted man to a higher plane, and pushed him forward a 
gigantic step in the glorious march of progress. 

It swept away the cobwebs of the dark ages, killed 
superstition, revived learning, stimulated individual en- 
deavor, opened the gates of opportunity, and gave to the 
Old World a New World. 



65 



THE RAISING OF THE MAINE. 



Mr. Sulzer Was the Author of the Bill in Con- 
gress, and Struggled for Ten Years to Pass the 
Law to Raise the Maine. 

Speaking in favor of his bill in Congress on Tuesday, 
February 16, 1909, he said: 

Mr. Speaker : Yesterday was the eleventh anniversary 
of the destruction of the Maine in the harbor of Habana. 
That event made history, wrote a glorious chapter in our 
annals, and changed the map of the world. More than 
a decade has now come and gone since that tragic event 
occurred, and as yet nothing has been done by the Gov- 
ernment of the United States to raise the wreck of the 
Maine, and to bring home and bury, with naval honors, 
in Arlington Cemetery, the remains of the sixty-odd 
brave and gallant sailors entombed in that hulk in the 
muck and slime of Habana Harbor. 

The records in the Navy Department show that 231 
men were killed when the Maine was blown up; that 24 
bodies were immediately recovered and buried in Key 
West, Fla. ; that later 144 bodies were recovered and 
buried in Habana; that these bodies were subsequently 
brought home and buried in the national cemetery at 
Arlington; that at least 63 bodies were never recovered 
or accounted for, and are now entombed in tke wreck 
of the Maine. For some inexplicable reason the Maine 
has never been raised and these bodies of the nation's 
heroic dead recovered and brought home for burial. 

Our dereliction in this matter is little less than a na- 
tional disgrace. It is becoming a big black blot on our 
boasted patriotism. Public sentiment has demanded for 
years that the wreck of the Maine be raised; that the 
truth of her destruction be told ; that the derelict be re- 

66 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 67 



moved from the channels of commerce : that the bodies 
of these brave sailors who sacrificed their lives on the 
altar of their country be recovered and brought home 
and decently interred in the national cemetery. 

Sir, for several years past I have endeavored in every 
way in my power to have something done about this de- 
plorable matter, but thus far without success. Long ago 
I introduced a resolution which passed the House unani- 
mously, calling on the Secretary of the Navy for infor- 
mation as to the cause of delay. The Secretary of the 
Navy sent to the House of Representatives, in compli- 
ance with that resolution, some data which was printed 
as a House document and is now before the Congress. 

Mr. Speaker, I send to the Clerk's desk, and ask to 
have read, my bill to Raise the Maine. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

A bill (H. R. 21 176) to raise the wreck of the U. S= 
battle ship Maine in Habana Harbor, and remove 
the bodies therein to Arlington Cemetery for inter- 
ment. 

Be it enacted, etc., That the Secretary of the Navy 
be, and he hereby is, authorized and directed to forth- 
with prepare and publish proposals requesting bids for 
the removal of the wreck of the U. S. battle ship Maine, 
now sunk in Habana Harbor, and have the bodies 
therein brought to Washington for interment in the na- 
tional cemetery at Arlington ; and that the contract or 
contracts for the purposes herein specified shall be let 
to the lowest responsible bidder. 

''Sec. 2. That the President be, and he hereby is, au- 
thorized and directed to make the necessary arrange- 
ments, if any be necessary, for the purposes herein desig- 
nated, with the Republic of Cuba. 

Sec. 3. That any money now at the disposal of the 
Navy Department is hereby made applicable for the pur- 
poses herein specified, and if the same be not sufficient 
to carry out the purposes herein specified, then such sum 
of money as may be necessary to meet all the require- 
ments of this act is hereby appropriated, out of any 



68 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to 
carry out the provisions of this act. 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, that bill speaks for it- 
self. It is now slumbering in the Committee on Naval 
Affairs, where it has been pigeon-holed ever since I in- 
troduced it. I have done everything in my power to 
get it reported, but thus far without success. I say now 
it should be speedily reported and passed ere this session 
of Congress adjourns. It will accomplish the object de- 
sired, and it meets with the approval of the patriotic 
people of this country. The delay has been disappointing 
to the friends of the Maine s heroic dead. I proclaim 
that the Government has been recreant in this matter. 
But I am not disheartened. I shall keep working for 
this legislation until the Maine is raised and the bodies 
of our dead sailors are brought home for interment. 
The fault is not mine. I have done, and I am trying to 
do, my duty. The fault is with the Naval Affairs Com- 
mittee of this House. The members of this committee 
are to blame for the disgraceful neglect and delay. Yes- 
terday being the eleventh anniversary of this tragical ca- 
lamity, I tried to get the Speaker to recognize me, it 
being suspension day in the House, to make a motion to 
suspend the rules, discharge the Committee on Naval 
Affairs from further consideration of my bill, and pass 
the same. The Speaker refused to grant me recogni- 
tion, although the Speaker recognized other Members on 
the floor for the purpose of calling up and passing 
bills far less commendable than my bill to' raise the 
Maine, the enactment of which is demanded by our 
liberty-loving people from one end of the land to the 
other. 

Mr. COX of Indiana. How much do you estimate it 
will cost? 

Mr. SULZER. Less than $500,000, according to com- 
petent experts, and I think the Navy Department has 
available now all the money that is necessary for the 
purpose — money that was heretofore appropriated. All 
that is necessary to do now is to pass my bill directing 
it to be done. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 69 



Mr. COX of Indiana. Has the gentleman any data as 
to the physical value of the Maine after it is raised ? 

Mr. SULZER. Possibly the old hulk will have no 
great monetary value save for scrap ; but that is not the 
question. This matter is one of gratitude to those who 
died for their country — of patriotism — of sentiment — of 
all that makes a nation grand and great. It rises above 
the sordid question of dollars and cents. I say there are 
entombed in the hulk of the Maine the bodies of 63 
brave and loyal sailors who died for their country, and 
the greater value is in the gratitude of the Government 
for which they offered up their lives ; and if we do not 
do our plain duty in the premises we will be false to 
ourselves; false to our boasted patriotism; false to the 
demands of public sentiment now sweeping over the 
land, which insists that the Congress now legislate to re- 
move the wreck of the Maine and bring these bodies 
home and bury them with their comrades in Arlington 
Cemetery. That is the duty of the hour — raise the 
Maine — lest we forget 

Mr. COX of Indiana. Can these bodies be recovered 
by diving? 

Mr. SULZER. No, they cannot. They are buried in 
the hulk of what is left of the Maine, and the wreck 
must be removed — raised — to get the bodies ; and the old 
hulk should be removed because it is a menace to navi- 
gation, and the Cubans want it out of the way. 

Mr. COX of Indiana. And the gentleman says there 
are still 63 bodies in the wreck of the Maine ? 

Mr. SULZER. Yes ; at least that many, according to 
official reports. 

Now, sir, during the Spanish- American war our battle 
cry was "Remember the Maine 1" Have we forgotten 
that? Have we, forsooth, so soon forgotten the Maine? 
Should not every prompting of patriotism impel us not 
only to remember the Maine, but to raise the Maine? The 
veterans of the Spanish-American war, from one end of 
the country to the other, are very much in favor of ac- 
tion along the lines of my bill, and nearly every camp 
has passed resolutions favoring its speedy enactment 
into law. Our neglect of the dead sailors buried in the 



70 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



wreck of the Maine is a shame and a disgrace. The 
wreck of the Maine must be raised. The bodies of our 
gallant seamen must be brought home and interred with 
their ill-fated comrades in the national cemetery. Let 
us do our duty. Let us enact this law. Let us raise the 
Maine. Let us find out for all time if the Maine was 
destroyed by an explosion from within or without. Let 
the truth be known to all the world. I am not afraid 
of the truth. No true American is afraid of the truth. 
The raising of the Maine will forever dissipate doubt — 
forever clear the sky of history — forever be a credit to 
our heart, and our manhood, and our patriotism, and our 
gratitude to our heroic dead. 

TAFT SIGNS MAINE BILL. 

{Special to "New York World!') 

Directs That Pen He Used Be Sent to Representa- 
tive SULZER. 

Washington, May 9. — The President to-day signed 
the bill providing for the raising of the battleship Maine, 
which has lain in the Havana harbor for twelve years. 

After the President had affixed his signature he di- 
rected that the gold pen with which he signed the meas- 
ure should be sent to Representative William Sulzer, of 
New York, as a memento of the long fight which Mr. 
Sulzer has made to secure the passage of this legislation. 
Mr. Sulzer has been the most persistent and earnest ad- 
vocate of the movement to raise the Maine, and was the 
author of the bill to legalize such a task. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 71 



THE RAISING OF THE MAINE. 

Army and Navy Union of the United States of 

America. 

New York, April 4, 19 10. 

Hon. Wm. Sulzer, 

115 Broadway, 

New York City, N. Y. 
My dear Comrade : 

On the occasion of the installation of officers of the 
Army and Navy Union Garrison, that bears your distin- 
guished name, you told us that whenever you had done 
anything that merited our approval to drop you a line 
and say, "Well done, Bill/; 

Not from Sulzer Garrison No. 12 alone, but from 
every hamlet, town and city throughout these Broad 
States, and, as a matter of fact, from every corner of 
the habitable globe wherein the spirit of humanity has 
found lodgment, the approving verdict of "Well done, 
Bill/' is rendered, for it was mainly through your un- 
tiring efforts that slothful official America was awakened 
to a sense of its duty in raising the Maine and removing 
the remains of the heroes from the slimy ooze of Ha- 
vana harbor to the parent soil in whose fair honor they 
yielded up their lives. 

Is it any wonder, then, that when your photograph 
was presented to the garrison by Comrade Simmons, that 
it was immediately given a prominent place beneath the 
"grand old flag" you so ably represent and defend? 

The great Empire State may feel justly proud of her 
loyal son, Garrison No. 12 particularly so in possessing 
so intrepid a "standard bearer/' and on reading that dark 
page in our nation's history the lisping tongues of the 
generations to come will confirm the verdict the whole 
country to-day renders — "Well done, Bill/' 

Enjoying in the fullest measure the riches of pros- 
perity, health and happiness, long may you be spared, re- 
spected by all peoples, honored by your country, beloved 
by the American citizen. 



72 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



With the assurance of my highest respect and esteem, 
I have the honor to be, in Freedom, Loyalty and Charity. 

Fraternally your comrade, 

Jos. De Souza, 
Commander of Wm. Sulzer Garrison No, 12. 
Wm. J, Stayskell, 

Adjutant. 



MR. SULZER THE CONSISTENT FRIEND OF 

CUBA. 



From Mr. Sulzers Speech in the House of Representa- 
tives, March 27, 1902. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : Let me reiterate what I have frequently 
said before on this floor, that I am now, always have 
been, and always will be a friend of Cuba. The record 
will show that ever since I have been a member of this 
House I have done all in my power for the Cuban peo- 
ple. I am glad the bright day is not far distant when 
the Cuban Republic will take her place among the na- 
tions of the earth. May success, prosperity, and do- 
mestic tranquillity abide with her forever. 

The time is at hand, nevertheless, when we must live 
up to our sacred obligations to Cuba. We must grant 
her the freedom and the independence promised. We 
must launch this young Republic of Cuba on the ocean 
of nations and say to all the world, Cuba is free and in- 
dependent. We must say to every nation, She is our 
creation — a daughter of the great Republic — and any in- 
terference with her will be an act unfriendly to the Gov- 
ernment of the United States. 

But that is not all. We must now grant her imme- 
diate trade relief. In a commercial way she is at our 
mercy. That is not her fault — it is our fault. Congress 
has made it practically impossible for Cuba to market 
her products in other countries ; they must be sold here, 
and they cannot be sold in this country at present, ex- 
cept at a ruinous loss, unless our tariff law is modified. 
This must be done at once — it should have been done 
months ago. If it is not speedily done I predict that 
conditions in Cuba will soon be worse than they ever 

73 



74 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



were before. The situation is serious and admits of no 
further delay. 

The Secretary of War, General Wood, President-elect 
Palma, and every person familiar with the present situa- 
tion in Cuba have all urged Congress to reduce the exist- 
ing tariff taxes on Cuban exports to this country at least 
50 per cent. But nothing has been done. The Repub- 
lican leaders cannot agree, the Ways and Means Commit- 
tee will not act, and industrial Cuba is becoming paral- 
yzed. I predict that if this selfish policy is continued 
much longer the doctrine of protection will soon be de- 
stroyed by its foolish worshipers. 

Mr. Speaker, I am in favor of doing something now 
to avert calamity in Cuba. I want to see Cuba free and 
happy and prosperous. I will vote for any measure to 
reduce the present tariff duties between this country and 
Cuba. In my judgment we should have freer trade with 
Cuba. It would be beneficial to us and advantageous 
to the Cubans. It would help the people of both coun- 
tries. 

But I say now, and it must be apparent to any one 
who gives the subject consideration, that if relief comes 
by tariff reduction the present duties must be reduced 
at least one-half. Anything less in this line will be use- 
less and futile, and Cuba will go back to a condition of 
commercial stagnation that will cost us dearly in the end, 
and the fault will be all our own. 

In the last three years the balance of trade has been 
over $30,000,000 against the island. Her people have 
exhausted their resources in an heroic struggle to build 
up their industries, but they cannot go on spending more 
than they receive any longer, and this year's sugar crop, 
which will be over 800,000 tons, represents their supreme 
effort, and unless relief comes — and comes quickly — we 
must expect a crisis which will render Cuba's position 
most deplorable and ours most embarrassing. 

When the Congress adopted the so-called Piatt amend- 
ment, which I voted against, and which in my judgment 
never should have been adopted, it took an unfair ad- 
vantage of Cuba; but when that amendment finally be- 
came a law, the Cuban people accepted it in good faith, 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 75 



and, at our request, wrote it into their constitution. By 
virtue of that amendment Cuba is commercially helpless 
to-day, and unable to make treaties of a commercial 
character to market her products. Under the circum- 
stances, it seems to me that it is incumbent on this Gov- 
ernment to grant some trade relief to Cuba by which 
her products can be admitted into this country and sold 
without a loss. 



THE ELECTION OF SENATORS IN CONGRESS 
BY THE PEOPLE. 

Mr. Sulzer is the author of the Resolution in Congress 
to amend the Constitution so that U. S. Senators shall 
be elected by the People. 

Speaking in favor of his Resolution on May 27, 1908, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : The Democratic party to-day favors 
every reform demanded by the patriotic and intelligent 
electorate of the country. It is now, as it ever has been, 
the party of the plain people, and the party of the Con- 
stitution. It stands for equal rights to all, and special 
privileges to none. It is opposed to the centralization of 
wealth in the hands of the few by the robbery, under 
color of law, of the many. It is opposed to the further 
centralization of power in the Federal Government by 
depriving the States of their reserved rights. It is the 
foe of subsidies and of every special privilege ; and, as a 
minority party, in recent years it has accomplished much 
for the general welfare in preventing the enactment of 
iniquitous legislation for the benefit of the few at the 
expense of the many. 

The Democratic party favors the election of United 
States Senators by the direct vote of the people, and 
will make it a live issue in the coming campaign. It 
favors this change in the Federal Constitution as it w T ill 
every other change that will restore the Government to 
the control of the people. It wants the people, in fact 
as well as in theory, to rule this great Republic and the 
Government at all times to be responsive to their just 
demands. 

In my opinion, the people can and ought to be trusted 
They have demonstrated their ability for self-govern- 
ment. If the people cannot be trusted, then our Govern- 

76 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 77 



ment is a failure, and the free institutions of the fathers 
doomed. We must rely on the people, and we must 
legislate in the interests of all the people and not for the 
benefit of the few. 

We witness to-day in the personnel of the United 
States Senate the supplanting of democracy by plutoc- 
racy. Here Mammon is intrenched. Here the predatory 
combinations take their stand and defy the people. Here 
is the last bulwark of the criminal trusts. Here is the 
citadel of the unscrupulous monopolies. And more and 
more the special interests of the country, realizing the 
importance of the Senate, are combining their forces to 
control the election of Federal Senators through their 
sinister influence in State legislatures. Forty-six United 
States Senators can prevent the enactment of a good law 
or the repeal of a bad law. The United States Senate 
is the most powerful legislative body in the world and its 
members should be elected by the people of the country 
just the same as the Representatives in Congress are 
elected. This is of the utmost importance to the plain 
people of the country, because when the Senate is di- 
rectly responsible to the people they will control it; and 
then, and not till then, will that august body respond to 
the will of the people. 

The right to elect United States Senators by a direct 
vote of the people is a step in advance and in the right 
direction. I hope it will speedily be brought about. It 
is the right kind of reform, and I hope it will be suc- 
ceeded by others, until this Government becomes indeed 
the greatest and the best and the freest Government the 
world has ever seen, where the will of the people shall be, 
as it ought to be, the supreme law of the land. 

Mr. Speaker, ever since I have been a Member of this 
House I have advocated and worked faithfully to bring 
about the election of Senators in Congress by the direct 
vote of the people. In every Congress in which I have 
served I have introduced a joint resolution to amend the 
Constitution to enact into law this most desirable re- 
form, and the record will show that I have done every- 
thing in my power, in Congress and out of Congress, to 
secure its accomplishment. On several occasions the 



73 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



resolution has passed the House, only to fail in the 
Senate, because the Senate would not allow the question 
to come up for action. At the beginning of this session 
of Congress I again reintroduced my resolution to amend 
the Constitution so that United States Senators shall be 
elected by the direct vote of the people. It is similar to 
the resolution I introduced in all previous Congresses of 
which I have been a Member. I now send this joint reso- 
lution to the Clerk's desk and ask to have it read in my 
time, so that it will be printed in the Record as a part 
of my remarks. 

The Clerk read as follows : 
Joint resolution (H. T. Res. 137) proposing an amend- 
ment to the Constitution providing for the election 
of Senators of the United States by direct vote of 
the people. 

Resolved by the Senate and House of Rc*>'cs:}:;^::z'cs 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled 
(tzi'o-thirds of each House concurring therein), That the 
following amendment be proposed to the legislatures of 
the several States, which, when ratified by three-fourths 
of said legislatures, shall become and be part of the Con- 
stitution, viz. : In lieu of the first and second paragraphs 
of section 3 of Article I of the Constitution of the United 
States of America the following shall be proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution : 

Sec. 3. First. The Senate of the United States shall 
"be composed of two Senators from each State, who shall 
be elected by a direct vote of the people thereof for a 
term of six years, and each Senator shall have one vote. 
A plurality of the votes cast for candidates for Senator 
shall elect, and the electors shall have the qualifications 
for electors of the most numerous branch of the legis- 
lature. 

Second. "When vacancies happen, by resignation or 
otherwise, in the representation of any State in the Sen- 
ate, the same shall be filled for the unexpired term 
thereof in the same manner as is provided for the elec- 
tion of Senators in paragraph 1 : Prozrided, That the ex- 
ecutive thereof shall make temporary appointment until 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 79 



the next general or special election, held in accordance 
with the statutes or constitution of such State. 

Mr. Sulzer. Mr. Speaker: That joint resolution 
speaks for itself. It needs no apology. I believe it is 
right. I know the people favor it. I want to see it a 
part of the fundamental law of the land. I want to 
make the Senate less aristocratic and more democratic. 
I want to make it more obedient to man and less respon- 
sive to Mammon. I want to make it pay more heed to 
the appeals of the people and listen less to the demands 
of plutocracy. I want the Senate to be the people's Sen- 
ate, in the interest of the many and for the benefit of ail 
the people, and its accomplishment will keep the Gov- 
ernment nearer the masses and herald the dawn of a bet- 
ter and a brighter day in the onward march of the Re- 
public. 

The people all over this country demand this much- 
needed change in the Federal Constitution, so that they 
can vote directly for Senators in Congress, and they ap- 
peal to us to enact this law to give them that right. It 
is not a partisan question, neither is it a sectional issue. 
The demand reaches us from all parts of the land and 
from men in all political parties with a degree of unan- 
imity that is quite surprising. It is our duty to respect 
the wishes of the people and to give them a uniform 
law allowing them to vote for Senators in Congress just 
the same as they now vote for Representatives in Con- 
gress. 

Mr. Speaker, I am opposed to delegating away the 
rights of the people, and where they have been dele- 
gated away I would restore them to the people. I trust 
the people and I believe in the people. I believe that all 
governments derive their just powers from the consent 
of the governed, and hence I want to restore to the peo- 
ple the right now delegated to the legislatures by the 
framers of the Constitution, so that the Senate as well 
as the House will be directly responsible to the people 
and the Government become more and more a pure de- 
mocracy, where brains, fitness, honesty, ability, expe- 
rience and capacity, and not wealth and subserviency, 



8o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



shall be the true qualifications for the upper branch of 
the Federal Legislature. 

It may be said that it will be ureless, and a waste of 
time, for the House to again pass this joint resolution, 
as the Senators will never consent to a change in the 
method of their selection. That may be true in regard 
to some of the Senators, but I know it is not true in re- 
gard to all of them. Many of them favor this change 
and advocate it. If we pass this resolution, it is true it 
may fail again, as it has failed before, to meet the ap- 
proval of the Senate, but those who believe in this change 
will not give up the struggle to bring it about until it is 
accomplished, and, mark my words, sooner or later it 
will be accomplished. 

If a majority of the Senators oppose the adoption of 
this resolution in this Congress and from private mo- 
tives, or personal ideas, vote it down, the agitation of 
the people for this much-needed reform in the organic 
law will not cease, but will become more and more pro- 
nounced until there shall be a Senate that will listen to 
their demands. Do not be deceived; make no mistake; 
this reform is growing more and more in favor with the 
people every year and is destined to become more and 
more popular until in the near future it will be adopted. 

Already twenty-seven States have passed joint reso- 
lutions through their respective legislatures demanding 
this change in the Constitution. These States are Penn- 
sylvania, Indiana, Texas, California, Nevada, Missouri, 
Nebraska, Arkansas, Wyoming, North Carolina, Illinois, 
Colorado, Louisiana, Kansas, Montana, Wisconsin, Ore- 
gon, Michigan, Tennessee, Idaho, South Dakota, Wash- 
ington, Utah, Kentucky, Minnesota, Iowa, and Okla- 
homa. 

The action of these twenty-seven States of the Union 
demanding this change in the Federal Constitution, so 
that the people shall have the right to vote directly for 
United States Senators in Congress should be conclusive, 
and must impress Senators who are doing all in their 
power to prevent the enactment of this law that patience 
has almost ceased to be a virtue, and unless they take 
heed in time these States and some of the other States 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 81 

favorable to this reform will call a constitutional con- 
vention on their own initiation and amend the Constitu- 
tion in accordance with the wishes of the people. This 
is a most important question to all the people and the 
Senate will make a sad mistake if it attempts longer to 
ignore it. The people are in earnest in' this matter and 
any attempt to thwart their will in this reform will only 
hasten its consummation. 

The adoption of this joint resolution will prevent cor- 
ruption in State legislatures, stop scandal, and end to a 
great extent the temptation of political parties to gerry- 
mander legislative districts for partisan purposes. Let 
me say to this House that this legislative gerrymandering 
has been carried further by the Republican party in my 
own State of New York than perhaps in any other State 
in the Union. In the State of New York, under the 
present outrageous Republican apportionment the people 
cannot secure a Democratic legislature unless the Demo- 
cratic party carries the State by at least a plurality of 
100,000 votes. 

The Republicans in their partisanship went so far that 
they w r rote in our State constitution that no matter what 
the population of Greater New York should be, no mat- 
ter if it were twice as large as the population of the rest 
of the State, the city of Greater New York should never 
have more than one-half the members in the upper 
branch of our State legislature. I believe the change in 
our Federal Constitution sought to be made by this reso- 
lution will almost entirely prevent these unfair and out- 
rageous apportionments and at the same time give the 
worthy man the same opportunity under the law as the 
corporation's man to submit his cause and his candidacy 
to the arbitrament of the people for the high and honor- 
able office of a Senator in Congress. 



MR. SULZER OPPOSED TO SHIP SUBSIDIES. 



From Speech of Mr. Sulzer in Congress March 2, 1909. 

Mr. Speaker: The proposition under consideration is 
essentially a ship-subsidy bill — nothing more and nothing 
less. Call it what you will, the subsidy features cannot 
be disguised. It is a subsidy subterfuge, and the merest 
kind of a miserable makeshift. If it is enacted into law, 
it will retard intelligent shipping legislation for a decade 
at least. I am opposed to the bill, and I trust it will be 
decisively defeated. 

I am now, and always have been, and always expect 
to be absolutely opposed to ship subsidies of every kind 
that rob the many for the benefit of the few. Ship sub- 
sidies do not build ships ; they create ocean-trading mo- 
nopolies. Ship subsidies will not give workmen em- 
ployment in American shipyards ; the money taken with- 
out justification from the Treasury of the people will 
simply go into the pockets of 'the owners of the ships now 
in commission. Every scheme of this kind simply per- 
mits respectable corruption and benefits the few at the 
expense of the many. The principle of ship subsidies 
is inherently wrong and absolutely indefensible, and no 
man who understands the question can justify the rob- 
bery in the face of the facts. 

Mr. Speaker, there is no man in this country more 
anxious and more willing to enact proper legislation to 
restore the American merchant marine than myself, but 
I want to do it honestly ; I want to do it along constitu- 
tional lines; and I want to do it in harmony with that 
fundamental American principle of equal rights to all 
and special privileges to none. 

For years I have been advocating honest and intelli- 
gent legislation to restore our merchant marine, and for 

82 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



83 



years Congress has turned to my appeals a deaf ear. 
The Congress is responsible for the present deplorable 
condition of our merchant marine, and every intelligent 
student of the subject is aware of the fact. 

In 1896 the Republican party wrote in its national plat- 
form a plank to restore the American merchant marine 
by discriminating duties. That meant something, but 
Mr. Hanna, the then leader of the Republican party, 
came to Congress and instead of adhering to that plan 
he introduced a bill for ship subsidies, an outrageous 
measure which was overwhelmingly defeated. There- 
upon I introduced a bill for discriminating duties, and 
the Republicans refused to allow it to be considered. 

The Republican party abandoned the plank of 1896 
for discriminating duties and did not have the courage 
to readopt it, or renounce it, in its platform of 1900, and 
studiously avoided committing its followers to any policy 
in its platforms of 1904 and 1908. No political party in 
all the history of our country has ever dared to write in 
its platform a plank in favor of ship subsidies, and, in 
my opinion, no party that does not welcome defeat will 
ever do it, 

The Republican leaders in Congress, notwithstanding 
their party professions to the contrary, have been advo- 
cating ever since I have been in the House of Represen- 
tatives, the restoration of the American merchant marine 
by ship subsidies, by gratuities that rob all the people in 
order to foster a special industry. I am opposed to ship 
subsidies, and this proposition is a ship-subsidy measure 
pure and simple. It is a little ship subsidy, it is true, 
and that is the apology its advocates now make for it. 
It is just a little subsidy, forsooth, but I warn the Mem- 
bers that it is the entering wedge to open the Treasury 
of the people, and if it is adopted it means in the end a 
gigantic raid on the country's finances, not for $3,000,000 
a year, but for $30,000,000 a year, and for years and 
years to come. 

This proposal before us to-day, if it is successful, is 
the beginning of a systematic scheme to rob all the peo- 
ple for the benefit of a few, and if it is rushed through 
under the party lash in the closing hours of Congress, I 



84 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



predict that the people, from one end of the land to the 
other, will denounce it in unmeasured terms and never 
rest content until it is repealed. 

The American people are unalterably opposed to a 
ship-subsidy raid on the Treasury. A subsidy is a 
bounty, a bonus, a gratuity, and it never has succeeded, 
and it never will succeed, in accomplishing the purpose 
desired. All history proves it conclusively. Wherever 
and whenever it has been tried it has failed. In my 
opinion, if a subsidy bill should pass it would not re- 
store our American merchant marine or aid our ship- 
building industries. It is a waste of time to talk about 
ship subsidies, and I believe every honest American is 
opposed to them. We might just as well pass a bill to 
pay a subsidy to every man who grows a bushel of 
wheat or raises a bale of cotton as to pay a subsidy to 
the man who sails a ship. 



MR. SULZER THE CHAMPION OF OUR MER- 
CHANT MARINE. 



He is the Author of the Bill in Congress to Revive 
the American Merchant Marine by Preferen- 
tial Duties — the Policy of the Fathers. 

Speaking* in favor of this Bill, Mr. Sulzer said on 
January 26, 1910 : 

Mr, Speaker : We all realize that there is a sentiment, 
growing stronger and stronger every day, throughout 
the country, in favor of doing something to rehabilitate 
our merchant marine. This is patriotic, eminently 
proper, and should be encouraged by every true Ameri- 
can. 

It is unfortunate, however, that many well-meaning 
citizens, who desire to see our ocean carrying trade re- 
stored to our own merchant marine, have little knowl- 
edge of the best and the easiest way to do it, or of the 
causes which gradually drove our shipping from the high 
seas and placed us finally at the bottom of the list of the 
world's maritime powers. 

There is no man in this country more anxious and 
more willing to enact proper legislation to restore the 
American merchant marine than myself, but I want to 
do it honestly ; I want to do it along constitutional lines ; 
and I want to do it in harmony with that fundamental 
principle of equal rights to all and special privileges to 
none. 

It is a fact — a most deplorable fact — and every man 
who has investigated the subject knows it, that we have 
less registered tonnage for deep-sea carrying trade to- 
day than we had one hundred years ago. In 1812, the 
United States, with a population of less than ten million, 
owned more registered tonnage for ocean-carrying trade 

85 



86 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



than the United States in 1912, with a population of over 
ninety million. 

The American deep-sea tonnage in 1812 was over 
1,200,000, and it is now less than 800. coo : and, what is 
worse still, it showed an actual decrease of more than 
6,000 tons last year. In 1812 American ships, flying the 
American flag and manned by American sailors, carried 
over 90 per cent, of our deep-sea trade, and a great part 
of that of all the countries of Europe. To-day we carry 
very little of our own trade and practically none of other 
countries, notwithstanding the fact that we should be 
the foremost maritime power in the world. 

It is a sad commentary on our growth and greatness 
that more than nine-tenths of our once great and power- 
ful deep-sea fleet has vanished, and not one new keel for 
an ocean-going merchant ship is being laid to-day on 
either our Atlantic or Pacific coast : while the vessels of 
foreign nations throng our ports and monopolize more 
than nine-tenths of all our import and export commerce. 

The question of the hour is, how shall we restore the 
American merchant marine? What shall we do to place 
our flag again on every sea ? What policy shall we adopt 
to regain our ocean-carrying trade and revive our ship- 
building industry? There are several policies proposed 
by those who desire to restore the American flag to the 
high seas and to secure for our country its proper share 
of the world's ocean commerce ; and, briefly enumerated, 
they are as follows : 

First — Ship subsidies. 
Second — Free ships. 
Third — Preferential duties. 

Let us briefly discuss these proposed remedies in their 
order. I shall state, as succinctly as I can, without prej- 
udice, the merits and the demerits of each proposition; 
and I shall do so from a patriotic and not from a political 
point of view, because, in my judgment, the restoration 
of our merchant marine is purely an economic question 
based on patriotism, and rises superior to partisan con- 
sideration. 

Let us come, then, to the first proposition, to wit, ship 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 87 



subsidies. In the light of the past, I think we can safely 
say that the American people are unalterably opposed to 
a ship-subsidy raid on the Treasury. A subsidy is a 
bounty, a bonus, a gratuity, and it never has succeeded, 
and it never will succeed, in accomplishing the purpose 
desired. All history proves it conclusively. Wherever 
and whenever it has been tried, it has failed. In my 
opinion, if a subsidy bill should pass, it would not re- 
[ store our American merchant marine or aid our ship- 
building industries. 

And now let us discuss the second remedy, to wit, free 
ships, by which I mean the right of an American citizen 
to build or buy a ship anywhere, give it the benefit of the 
American registry laws, and place upon it the American 
flag. To bring this about, all that it is necessary to do 
is to repeal the prohibitive law, which is a blot on our 
common sense and a disgrace to our maritime intelli- 
gence; but this can never be done while the believers in 
protection for the sake of protection can prevent it. 

This policy of free ships has been advocated for years 
by many able and patriotic men who thoroughly under- 
stand this shipping question and deplore the loss we are 
sustaining every year by reason of the elimination of our 
merchant marine. 

What a spectacle is presented, when we realize that by 
virtue of our existing navigation laws the American who 
builds or buys a ship in a foreign country is an outlaw — 
prevented from giving the vessel American registration 
and compelled to sail the ship under the protection of a 
foreign flag. 

Now let us take up the third proposition, namely, pref- 
erential duties in favor of American-built ships and 
against ships flying the flag of a foreign country. This 
was the policy so successfully in operation in this coun- 
try up to 1828, when, to please foreign interests, the law 
was suspended, and from that day to this our prestige on 
the high seas has been declining, until it is less to-day 
than it was a century ago. 

The true friends of our merchant marine confidently 
assert that if this preferential policy of the fathers was 
restored, it would revive our overseas carrying trade, 



88 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



and in a very few years build up our ship industries so 
that we w T ould again secure our share of the ocean com- 
merce of the world and save millions and millions of 
dollars that we pay annually to foreign ship owners. 
In reading the report of the Merchant Marine Commis- 
sion, I observe that several of the largest shipbuilders 
testified that they formerly believed in subsidies, but had 
changed their opinions and now advocated preferential 
duties. The difference between a subsidy and preferen- 
tial duties is about this : We must pay the subsidy ; the 
foreign shipowner pays the preferential duties. 

There seems to be but one objection, so far as I can 
learn, to a return to preferential duties; and this objec- 
tion comes from the advocates of ship subsidies, who 
declare that we have commercial treaties with foreign 
governments containing the favored-nation clause, and, 
in order to inaugurate the policy of preferential duties, 
it will be necessary to change our commercial treaties, 
and this cannot be done without giving these favored 
nations one year's notice. 

This objection, however, is more apparent than real; 
for there is no doubt the change could be made if this 
government wanted to make it, and a year's notice to 
bring it about would cause no great delay, especially 
when we consider that nothing has been done for our 
deep-sea shipping in more than a quarter of a century. 

If we desire to change our commercial treaties with 
these favored nations, we have a perfect right to do so, 
and no nation can object. If there be retaliation, two 
can play at the same game, and our trade is more im- 
portant to other nations than their trade is to our coun- 
try. As I have said, many citizens and several distin- 
guished members of Congress who have given this sub- 
ject much thought and consideration believe that prefer- 
ential duties will effectually solve the problem in the 
most feasible and practical way. 

It is my candid opinion — and I have no hesitancy 
in saying so — that, if we had continued the policy of the 
fathers and not suspended our early preferential duty 
laws, we would to-day be the greatest maritime nation in 
the world and our flag would be on every sea and our 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



89 



ships would be carrying the commerce not alone of our 
own country, but perhaps half of that of all the other 
great nations of the world. 

For years, in Congress and out of Congress, I have 
been advocating honest and intelligent legislation to re- 
store our merchant marine; and for years the men in 
control of Congress have turned to my appeals a deaf 
ear. 

In this Congress I have again introduced my bill for 
preferential duties. It is a short bill, and reads as 
follows : 

"That a reduction of five per centum ad valorem of 
the customs duties now or hereafter imposed by law 
shall be allowed on all goods, wares, or merchandise im- 
ported into the United States in vessels of the United 
States." 

That means this : that all goods, wares, and merchan- 
dise coming into the United States in American ships 
shall pay five cents on the dollar less than goods, wares, 
and merchandise coming into the United States in for- 
eign ships. What shipowner wants a greater advantage 
than that? This preferential duty is far superior, as a 
permanent remedy, to any ship subsidy. Let me tell you 
that a foreign ship came into New York from Brazil 
several months ago, that had aboard a cargo valued at 
$19,000,000. It was rubber, and rubber does not pay 
one cent of duty. Suppose that cargo had to pay a 
duty of five per cent, on $19,000,000 if it came in a for- 
eign-built ship, and not a dollar if it came in an Ameri- 
can-built ship. There is enough money to build a ship 
on one trip ; and do not you suppose that men who have 
money and are looking for investment would be invest- 
ing their money in American ships if there was a pref- 
erential duty law like this on the statute books? Of 
course they would. 

You cannot get men with money to-day to invest in 
American ships, because they say it does not pay, and 
men will not invest money in any business that does not 
pay. Give our shipbuilding industries of this country an 



90 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

opportunity to interest idle money, and it will become 
immediately interested, and every one of our shipyards 
will be working overtime and there will be new ships- 
yards built in every part of the United States where you 
can conveniently build a shipyard. That is the object 
of my bill, and I have discussed it with* a great many 
men and have never yet heard a man say anything con- 
clusive against its patriotism, against its policy, or 
against its effect. 

I think that provision of the bill is clear to every one 
here who understands our tariff laws and our shipping 
laws. In other words, this provision gives American 
ships a preferential duty over foreign ships of five per 
cent — five cents on the dollar — on all goods, wares, and 
merchandise brought into the United States. That is 
so great a preferential advantage that it would imme- 
diately compel importers to bring their products into this 
country in American ships. They would immediately 
begin to invest money in shipyards and build ships, so 
that they could bring in their goods in American ships 
and save five per cent. The American shipowners 
would, of course, be able to charge more freight than 
the foreign shipowners, and the American importer 
would be compelled to patronize the American ship to 
save freight charges. 

But I go further in my bill and say : 

"And in cases where no customs duties are imposed by 
law on goods, wares and merchandise imported into the 
United States, there shall be levied, collected, and paid 
a duty of two per centum ad valorem if such goods, 
'i wares or merchandise are imported in vessels not of the 
United States." 

We have a tremendous free list, and it is getting larger 
all the time, and by reason of this circumstance Con- 
gress, in order to raise enough mone)?' to administer the 
affairs of the government, has to increase taxes on goods 
on the dutiable list. 

No merchant bringing tea from the Orient, no mer- 
chant bringing rubber and coffee and cocoa from South 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 91 



America — all of which are on the free list — would bring 
those goods in foreign bottoms and pay a tax of two 
cents on a dollar, when he could bring them into this 
country in American ships free. 

[Reading:] 

''The said reduction of five per centum in duty herein 
provided for shall not apply to goods, wares and mer- 
chandise not of the growth, production, or manufacture 
of countries contiguous to or bordering upon the terri- 
tory of the United States, when imported into the United 
States by land transportation or land vehicles or convey- 
ances through or from ports or other places of coun- 
tries bordering upon the United States, if the same shall 
have been brought to such ports in vessels not of the 
United States ; in cases where no customs duties are im- 
posed by law on such goods, wares and merchandise so 
imported, a duty of two per centum ad valorem shall be 
levied, collected, and paid, Said reduction of five per 
centum in duty shall not apply in cases where goods, 
wares, or merchandise are trans-shipped or transferred 
from a foreign vessel, port, or place to a vessel of the 
United States for the purpose of evading the provisions 
of this Act, and in such cases no exemption from duty 
shall be granted." 

But I go still further: 

"Sec. 2. That the master, agent or owner of any reg- 
istered vessel of the United States shall be exempt from 
the tax of four dollars for every alien entering the United 
States on such vessel prescribed by section one of the 
Act of February twentieth, nineteen hundred and seven, 
entitled 'An Act to regulate the immigration of aliens 
into the United States/ " 

You know that these great trans-Atlantic ships bring 
a million immigrants to the United States every year, 
and they have to pay to the government of the United 
State a head tax of $4 on every one. That is 84,000,000. 
That would nearly ail go to the American ship owner. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Here is a great discrimination in favor of American 
ships and against foreign-built ships, that will help put 
American ships upon the high seas. 
[Reading:] 

"Sec. 3. That the President shall have power, and it 
shall be his duty, to give notice, within ten days after the 
passage of this Act, to all foreign countries with which 
commercial agreements have been entered into making 
any provision or provisions which are in conflict with 
sections one or tw T o of this Act, of the intention of the 
United States to terminate such agreement at a time 
specified in said notice, which time shall in no case be 
longer than the period of time specified in such agree- 
ments, respectively, for notice for their termination: 
Provided, That until the expiration of the period when 
the notice of intention to terminate hereinbefore pro- 
vided for shall have become effective, or until such date 
prior thereto as the high contracting parties may by mu- 
tual consent select, the terms of said commercial agree- 
ment shall remain in force. 

"Sec. 4. That all Acts and parts of Acts in conflict 
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, and 
that, except as provided in the first and second sections 
hereof, this Act shell take effect and be in force from 
and after its passage." 

This is the bill, and it is a simple measure. Why 
should we not adopt it? 

So I say to the champions of subsidies, which at best 
are only a temporary relief, that we never can help our 
shipbuilding industries and restore our merchant marine 
unless we adopt the policy of free ships, or discriminate 
in some way in favor of our own ships and against 
foreign ships. The fact is, that we discriminate now, 
by law, against our own ships in favor of foreign ships. 
My plan is simply to reverse the situation. I sincerely 
believe that if my bill for preferential duties were en- 
acted into law, the United States, in a few years, would 
become the mistress of the seas, and American ships, 
built in our own shipyards, w T ould do all our own ocean 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 93 

commerce, besides a great part of the deep-sea carrying 
trade of the other countries of the world, without taking 
a dollar out of 'the pockets of the taxpayers of our 
country. 

My friends, let me say, in conclusion, that the policy 
I propose is not a makeshift. It is not new — having 
been the law of our country from 1792 to 1828, when 
it was suspended, and that suspension was one of the 
greatest political blunders in all our history. It is not a 
temporary expedient. It is permanent. It has been 
tried and not found wanting. It is the easiest way to 
restore the American merchant marine. Adopted again 
as our policy and upon the statute books, it will never be 
repealed or suspended, but will speedily restore our 
ocean-carrying trade ; revive our shipbuilding industries ; 
give employment in our shipyards to thousands and 
thousands of men in all parts of the country; bring 
about an era of prosperity such as we have never known 
before in our shipping trade and deep-sea commerce ; 
place our flag on every sea and in every port ; and make 
our seamen what they were in the historic days of the 
Republic* — the pride of America and the masters of the 
ocean highways of the world. 



MR. SULZER FAVORS THE REPUBLIC— 
AGAINST EMPIRE. 

On February 23, 1900, Mr. Sulzer said in Congress : 
Mr. Speaker : In the contest which is now on between 
the Republic and the empire, I take my stand with the 
people against empire and in favor of the perpetuity of 
the Republic. Ours is the great republic, the beacon 
light of the world, the refuge of the oppressed of every 
clime, the home for the downtrodden of every land, and 
it is the imperative duty of those who are here and en- 
joying the inestimable blessings of our free institutions 
to see to it that the Government of Jefferson, of Jack- 
son and of Lincoln does not perish from the earth. 



94 



MR. SULZER PAYS A TRIBUTE TO THE 
VOLUNTEER SOLDIERS. 



From Speech on the Volunteers in House of Representa- 
tives, April 7, 1898. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : I believe in the citizen soldiery of our 
land. I take a deep interest in their welfare, and in so 
far as I can I shall always maintain their rights. The 
history of our country in time of war demonstrates that 
there are no better soldiers. They are brave, patriotic 
and intelligent. They come from the professions, from 
the workshops, from the counting rooms, from the mills, 
from the mines, and from the fields. There are no bet- 
ter fighters than those who come from the volunteer 
forces of the people. 

The volunteers constitute the great patriotic army of 
our country. They are no hirelings, no mercenaries; 
they fight for the defense of home and country, for 
liberty and freedom. In time of peace, they follow their 
usual trades, professions and occupations. They do not 
menace our liberties or the stability of our free institu- 
tions. In time of war they constitute an army of intelli- 
gent, well-drilled soldiers as large as any army in the 
world. In a republic like ours a great standing army in 
time of peace is useless and expensive. In time of trouble 
we must rely upon the volunteer forces of the country. 



95 



MR. SULZER SPEAKS FOR REAL ECONOMY. 



Speech in the House of Representatives, June 25, 1910 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : We hear much about ecenomy ; but it is 
the pound-foolish and the penny-wise economy that 
sounds well and means little. All I desire to say now is 
that I am in favor of real economy, real retrenchment, 
and real reform. I denounce, however, that false econ- 
omy that dismisses the faithful clerks from the depart- 
ments, after long years of efficient service, to save a few 
dollars; that bogus economy that deprives the poor pen- 
sioner of his rights to save a few dollars ; that pretended 
economy that breaks the promise to the veteran soldier 
and withholds the money long due the men who saved 
the Union. That is sham economy, and there is nothing 
to it but hollow pretense. It fools none but the unthink- 
ing. I am not in favor of that kind of economy — away 
with it, I say. 

Where are the friends of real economy when it comes 
to a question of cutting down the great appropriation 
bills, carrying millions and millions of dollars? Where 
are the watchdogs of the Treasury when all rules are 
suspended and the "powers that be" in Congress rush 
through the rivers and harbors bills, and the public build- 
ings bills, appropriating hundreds of millions of dollars ? 

The echo answers "Where?" Here is where I am in 
favor of economizing. Then it is that I am in favor of 
using the pruning knife. Let it be understood that those 
who are responsible here for these great appropriation 
bills have not practiced what they preached, have not 
practiced the economy that they could have practised, and 
yet they are continually harping upon the necessity of 
economizing, and delight to begin on the poor and the 

96 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



97 



needy. I would like to see them economize a little on 
the big matters. Out, I say, on false economy and trans- 
parent hypocrisy ! 

Just a few words more on the extravagance of this 
session of Congress. Its record for wasting the money 
of the people will eclipse any session of Congress in the 
history of the country. To talk about economy now in 
the face of this plundering record is an insult to the tax- 
payers and a libel on the word "economy." Let us see 
what the figures show — millions and millions of dollars 
more than ever before — a billion dollar session and then 
millions and millions more with a vengeance. The fig- 
ures show that the session of Congress just closing has 
broken all records in the history of the Republic in the 
amount of money appropriated and authorized to be ex- 
pended. It has no parallel. The total amount of the 
appropriations and authorizations as calculated approxi- 
mate $1,054,086,941. This exceeds by about $10,000,000 
the total of the appropriations and authorizations made 
at the last regular session of Congress. The amount of 
the appropriations in the last regular session was, in 
round numbers, $1,044,000,000. When is it going to 
stop? Where is the economy that was talked about all 
session ? That is what the taxpayers would like to know. 
Is it any wonder the people demand a change? 

The Speaker : The time of the gentleman from New 
York has expired. 

Mr. Sulzer: Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent 
to print in the Record in connection with my remarks, a 
letter from the Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and 
a comparative statement of figures. 

The Speaker: Is there objection. [After a pause.] 
The Chair hears none. 

The letter and statement are as follows : 

"Treasury Department, 
"Washington, June 14, 1910. 

"Hon. William Sulzer, 

"House of Representatives, 
"Sir : In reply to your communication of recent date, 
requesting a statement showing the comparative annual 



98 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



cost of the Government under the administrations of 
Presidents Cleveland, McKinley, Roosevelt, and Taft, I 
have the honor to inclose herewith a statement of the 
ordinary disbursements, including the Panama Canal, for 
the period, by years, beginning March i. 

"The disbursements on account of the canal to May 31, 
1910, include $87,309,594.83 from proceeds of bonds and 
premium, and $114,082,908.73 paid from the general cash 
in the Treasury. 

"The ordinary disbursements include grants from the 
Treasury for deficiencies in postal revenues, but do not 
include expenditures for the postal service from postal 
revenues under control of the Postmaster General. 

"Respectfully, 
"A. Piatt Andrew, 
"Assistant Secretary" 



Statement of disbursements by annua periods from March' 1, 1S93, to May 81, 1910. 





Ordinary dis- 
bursements. 


Panama 
Canal. 


Disburse- 
ments, in- 
cluding 
canal. 


President Cleveland: 

March 1, 1893, to March 1, 1894 

March 1, 1894, to March 1, 1895 

March 1, 1895, to March 1, 1896 

March 1, 1896, to March 1. 1897 

President McEinley: 

March 1, 1897, to March 1, 1898 

March 1, 1898, to March 1, 1899 

March 1, 1899, to March 1, 1900 

March 1, 1900, to March 1, 1901 

President McKinley to September, 1901; 
President Roosevelt from September, 1901 : 

March 1, 1901, to March 1, 1902 

March 1, 1902, to March 1, 1903 

March 1, 1903, to March 1. 1904 

March 1, 1904 to March 1, 1905 

President Roosevelt: 

March 1, 1905, to Mareh 1, 1906 

March 1, 1906, to March 1, 1907 

March 1, 1907, to March 1, 1908 

March 1, 1908, to March 1, 1909 

President Taft: 

March 1, 1909, to March 1, 1910.. ... 
March 1, 1910, to May 31, 1910 


$371,269,576.28 
366,650,441.79 
351,094,307.53 
364,55-9,067.55 




$371,269,576.28 
366,650,441.79 
351,094,307.53 

. 364,559,067.55 


1,453,573,393. 15 1 


1,453,573,393.15 


381,883,198.27' 

596,415,625 64 . 

521,476,500.85 

498,996,295.21! 


qci pop fqo 97 
596,415,625.64 
521,476,500.85 
498,996,295.21 


1,998,771,619.97 


1,998,771.619.97 


| 

477,650,220.17 

495,740,162.83 $3,985.00 
522.222,790.37| 15,000.00 
56i;060,082.12' 51,841,945.73 


477,650,220.17 
495,744,147.83 
522,237,790.37 

cio nno noo 05 

ol2,yUJ,Uzs.co 


2,056,673,255.49 51,860,931.73 


2,108,534,187.22 


1 

$556,980,404 . 88 ! $13,560,073 . 89 
546,842,526.13; 23,839,099.23 
587,014,697.89' 37,462,954.67 
659,337,545. 28? 31,776,485.93 


$570,540,478.77 
570,681,625.36 
624,477,652.56 
691,114,031.21 


2,350,175,174 . 18 106,638,613 . 72 


2,456,813,787.90 


660,206,614.41! 33,868,582.18 
153,584,035.60 9,024,375.93 


694,075,196.59 
162,608,411.53 


813,790,650. Olj 42,892,958.11 


856,683,608.12 



Note. — This statement is exclusive of transactions in the public debt and of expenditures f cr 
the postal service paid from postal revenues. 



99 



MR. SULZER THE COXSISTEXT ADVOCATE O? 
THE INCOME TAX. 



Justice to all Demands the Ratification of the Income- 
Tax Amendment to the Federal Constitution. 

SPEECH OF MR. SULZER, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, JANUARY 8, I9IO. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : For many years I have been the earnest 
advocate and the consistent champion of the imposition 
of a federal income tax, because it is the most equitable 
system of taxation to ail concerned that can, to my mind, 
be devised, compelling wealth, as well as toil, to pay its 
just share of the burdens of government. 

As a citizen of the State of New York I had indulged 
the hope that the income-tax amendment to the Federal 
Constitution passed in the last session of Congress would 
meet with the a; a rival of Governor Hughes and be 
ratified this year by the legislature of the Empire State. 

Contrary to my expectations, however, and doubtless 
much to the disappointment of many of the sincere 
friends of the governor, the latter, in his rece::: message 
to the legislature declares in specific terms against the 
ratification by the legislature of the income-tax amend- 
ment and urges its defeat. 

I regret exceedingly that the Governor has lent his 
great influence, with a studied calculation, to the side of 
political reaction, and thrown the weight of his great 
office, regardless of popular opinion, to the support of 
selfish privilege. 

The issue is a momentous one, and the people must 
decide. For year^ hey have demanded an income tax, 
and justice to all commanded that it should be written 

100 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 101 

on the federal statute books so that the burdens of gov- 
ernment should be more equitably adjusted and the un- 
protected weak and the overladened poor, to some extent, 
relieved of unjust discriminations in taxation. 

Now, Mr. Chairman, in this connection I send to the 
Clerk's desk and desire to have read in my time a very 
able editorial on the subject from the New York World. 

The Clerk read as follows : 



SULZER TO GOVERNOR HUGHES ON THE 
INCOME TAX. 



{From editorial in New York World, Thursday, Janu- 
ary 6, 1910.) 

"Governor Hughes has furnished to the opponents of 
the income-tax amendment the one thing they have been 
seeking — a plausible argument from a highly respectable 
source. 

"The governor's objection to the amendment as sub- 
mitted to the several state legislatures for ratification 
hinges upon the four words, 'from whatever source de- 
rived.' In his opinion this would permit Congress to tax 
the income from state and city bonds ; and 'to place the 
borrowing capacity of the State and its governmental 
agencies at the mercy of the federal taxing power would 
be an impairment of the essential rights of the State 
which as its officers we are bound to defend/ Or, as the 
governor says elsewhere in his message, 'to permit such 
securities to be the subject of federal taxation is to place 
such limitations upon the borrowing power of the State 
as to make the performance of the functions of local gov- 
ernment a matter of federal grace.' 

"With all respect to Governor Hughes, the World re- 
gards his fears as more imaginary than real. Assuming 
even that this amendment would confer upon Congress 
power to tax the income from state and city bonds, which 
is by no means certain, it is unlikely that Congress would 
try to exercise that power. Ever since the adoption of 
the Constitution Congress has had the power to levy 
direct taxes if it pleases, subject only to the restriction 
that they be apportioned among the several States ac- 
cording to population. As a matter of public policy, how- 
ever, it has never exercised this power. 

102 



SULZER'S 6H0RT SPEECHES 103 



"The effect of popular sentiment upon the taxing 
powers of Congress is stated with exceptional force by 
Justice Harlan in his dissenting opinion in the income- 
tax CJse, which Governor Hughes quotes in his message : 
'Any attempt on the part of Congress to apportion among 
the States, upon the basis simply of their population, tax- 
ation of personal property or of incomes would tend to 
arouse such indignation among the freemen of America 
that it would never be repeated.' In other words, the 
taxing power of Congress has to be exercised in accord- 
ance with the sentiment of the American people. 

"Members of Congress are citizens of States and resi- 
dents of counties. They live in cities or villages or town- 
ships, as the case may be, and most of these agencies of 
local government issue bonds for one purpose or another. 
It is hardly probable that Congressmen would pass a 
federal-tax law impairing the value of the public securi- 
ties of the communities in which they live and for the re- 
demption of which their own property is a pledge. But 
even if they did, we can assure Governor Hughes that 
local self-government will not perish from the earth or 
become 'a matter of federal grace.' 

"The British Government, we believe, taxes the income 
from its own consols, yet government in Great Britain 
still lives. Congress recently levied an excise tax upon 
the net income of all corporations doing business in the 
United States. If the governor's process of reasoning 
is correct, all these corporations will exist as 'a matter 
of federal grace.' When the stamp taxes were in force 
during the Spanish-American war Mr. Charles E. 
Hughes must have drawn checks against his personal 
bank account as 'a matter of federal grace.' 

"All that a federal tax on the income from city and 
state bonds could mean is that a slight increase might 
have to be made in the rate of interest, as the holders of 
these securities would lose some of their special priv- 
ileges. If this is to be resisted as an invasion of state 
rights, then the Government must concede that state 
rights are vastly more sacred than individual rights, for 
no such immunity is accorded to the individual in his tax 
relations with the Federal Government. 



104 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



"It taxes the blanket he is wrapped up in when he is 
born. It taxes the lumber in the roof that covers his 
head. It taxes the food that he eats, the clothes that he 
wears, the coffin in which he is buried, and the humble 
gravestone that bids him rest in peace with the hope of 
a glorious resurrection. All this, however, is not an 
invasion of state rights, and hence the governor refuses 
to worry about it. 

"The World does not impeach Governor Hughes's sin- 
cerity. His declaration in favor of conferring upon Con- 
gress great power to levy an income tax is clear and un- 
equivocal. His objections are all directed against the form 
of the proposed amendments; but as this amendment is 
the only specific income-tax question before the country, 
the governor for all present practical purposes might as 
well have declared himself against an income tax in any 
form. 

"Regardless of the distinction he makes, Governor 
Hughes's message will be hailed with delight by all the 
interests that oppose an income tax. They will promptly 
fall in behind the governor of New York to safeguard 
the precious principle of state rights. Wall Street is al- 
ways for state rights when there is any money in it, and 
always believes in a strong central government when 
the balance of profit swings in that direction. It will 
turn Governor Hughes's message, his arguments, his in- 
fluence, and his great reputation to its own account in 
every state capital in which there is a chance to prevent 
the ratification of the amendment. 

"If this amendment to the Constitution of the United 
States is defeated, a larger measure of responsibility will 
rest upon Charles E. Hughes than upon any one citizen 
of the country — a fact to which the governor doubtless 
gave careful and conscientious consideration before he 
sent his message to the New York legislature. 

Mr. Sulzer: Mr. Speaker, that timely and eloquent 
and impartial editorial sums up the whole situation, and 
appealed to me so strongly that I immediately wrote a 
letter commending it to the New York World, which is 
published on its editorial page this morning, and which 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 105 



I now send to the Clerk's desk and ask to have read in 
my time as part of my remarks. 
The Clerk read as follows : 

IN REPLY TO GOVERNOR HUGHES REPRESENTATIVE SULZER 

SAYS THE GOVERNOR'S OBJECTIONS TO THE INCOME- 
TAX AMENDMENT ARE WEAK AND UNTENABLE LET 

THE LEGISLATURE RATIFY IT. 

"To the Editor of the World: 

"The splendid editorial in the World this morning in 
favor of the ratification of the income-tax amendment 
to the Federal Constitution by the New York legislature 
rings true., and I hope it will be read by every taxpayer 
in the State of New York. 

"The criticisms of Governor Hughes in his message 
to the legislature are weak and untenable. It is appar- 
ent the governor mistakes public sentiment in the Em- 
pire State and has a very poor opinion of the ability of 
Congress to enact an income-tax law that will be emi- 
nently fair and just. The governor's message against 
the income tax is a blunder that must grieve his most 
earnest friends. 

"Years ago Joseph Pulitzer proclaimed the equity of 
an income tax. His ringing editorials, in season and 
out of season, made me an earnest student of the subject, 
and after careful study and consideration committed me 
to the proposition that an income tax is the fairest, the 
most honest, the most democratic, and the most equitable 
tax ever devised by the genius of man. Ever since I 
came to Congress the Record will show that I have been 
the constant advocate of an income tax along constitu- 
tional lines. It is the only way to tax wealth as well as 
work. 

"At the present time nearly all of the taxes raised for 
the support of the Government are levied on consump- 
tion, through the agency of unjust and discriminating 
tariff taxes — on what the people need to eat and to wear 
and to live — the necessaries of life — and the consequence 
is that the poor man, indirectly but surely in the end, 
pays practically as much to support the Government as 



106 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



the rich man, regardless of the difference of incomes. 
This system of levying all the taxes on consumption so 
that the consumers are saddled with all the burdens of 
government is an unjust system of taxation, and the only 
way to remedy the injustice and destroy the inequality is 
by a graduated system of income taxes that will make 
idle wealth as well as honest toil pay its just share of 
the money needed to administer the National Govern- 
ment. 

"Joseph Pulitzer never made a more honest and a bet- 
ter fight for the people of his country than the fight for 
the income tax. All honor to him and all credit to the 
World. I am with you in this fight, and sooner or later 
it must prevail, because it is right. 

"In this connection, let me say that every great thinker, 
every honest jurist, every just statesman, and every in- 
telligent writer on political economy, from the days of 
Aristotle down to the present time, has advocated and 
justified the imposition of an income tax for the support 
of government as the most honest, the most equitable, 
and the most expeditious system of taxation that can be 
devised. It must come in this country. It should have 
been adopted long ago. Almost every great government 
on earth secures a large part of its revenue from an in- 
come tax, and the United States must do the same. We 
are far behind the governments of Europe in this re- 
spect — far behind enlightened public opinion throughout 
the world. 

"'When the income-tax amendment passed Congress I 
spoke in favor of it, as the Record will show, but I had 
my doubts as to the sincerity of its eleventh-hour Repub- 
lican friends. I predicted then that they passed it to 
placate the people and justify to some extent the iniqui- 
ties of the Payne- Aldrich tariff law, and that ultimately it 
would be found that many of the Republicans who urged 
the passage of the income-tax amendment in Congress 
would be opposing its ratification in the legislatures of 
the States. On July 12, 1909, I said on the floor of the 
House of Representatives : 

" T am not going to give the Republicans credit for 
good faith in passing this resolution to amend the Con- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



107 



stitution to provide for an income tax until I see how 
their representatives vote on it in the legislatures of Re- 
publican States. Mark what I say now: When this 
resolution passes, the wealth and the interests and the 
Republican leaders of the country opposed to an income 
tax will soon get together and urge its rejection by the 
legislatures of the States. If these obnoxious interests 
to the welfare of the people can get 12 legislatures to 
prevent its ratification, the income-tax amendment will 
fail to secure the necessary approval of three-fourths of 
the States of the Union and will never be adopted as a 
part of the Constitution.' 

"I am not a prophet, but I knew what I was talking 
about. My prediction is coming true. 

"Governor Hughes is wrong on the income-tax propo- 
sition, and I regret it exceedingly. His message on the 
subject-matter is specious and a sad disappointment. I 
hope, however, that the World and other papers that 
have the best interests of the people of the whole country 
at heart will urge upon the members of the New York 
legislature the justice and the importance and the ad- 
visability of voting in favor of the ratification of the 
income-tax amendment to the Federal Constitution. If 
this amendment is beaten in the legislature of the State 
of New York, it will be an outrage against the toilers 
of our land, an injustice to the consumers of our coun- 
try, and a crime against struggling humanity. 

"William Sulzer, M. C, 
"Tenth District, New York. 

"Washington, January 6." 

Mr. Sulzer : Mr. Speaker, my letter speaks for it- 
self and shows my position on this momentous question. 
In the future, as in the past, I shall do all in my power in 
Congress and out of Congress to secure the ratification 
of the income-tax amendment to the Federal Constitu- 
tion, so that it shall become a part of the supreme law of 
the land. 

The question now, however, before the people of the 
country, and especially the members of the legislatures 
of the different States, is not whether Congress shall 



io8 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



levy an income tax; or the kind of an income it shall 
ultimately write on the national law books, but the ques- 
tion at present is simply this : Shall the Congress of the 
United States have the constitutional right to impose an 
income tax, or forever be cut off from this source of 
revenue no matter what the exigencies of the times in 
war or in peace may demand? 

The people en masse throughout the land speak in 
thunder tones, and furnish cumulative proofs mountain- 
high, in favor of the ratification of the income-tax amend- 
ment. In the Empire State Governor Hughes has failed 
us. Will the members of the legislature of the State of 
New York prove recreant to their duty ? We shall see ; 
but lest they forget, let the people of grand old New York 
now speak out, and every friend of justice and equality 
and humanity do his duty. 



MR. SULZER'S TRIBUTE TO THE BOERS. 



In Congress May 7, 1900, Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Sulzer: Mr. Speaker, the measure now before 
the House is in the interest of the soldiers of the Union, 
and I am in favor of it and shall vote for the bill. I am 
now, always have been, and always will be a friend of the 
men who saved the Union, and I shall always favor the 
most liberal pension legislation in the interest of our 
heroic soldiers, their widows, and their orphans. I 
would make the pension roll a roll of honor to the friends 
of liberty and the brave defenders of our national ex- 
istence. All glory, I say. to the brave men who fought 
for freedom in the dark hours from 1861 to 1865. 

And, sir, in this connection I want to say all honor 
and all glory to the brave men who are now fighting for 
liberty and free institutions on the veldts of South 
Africa. I want to say a few words in favor of the 
Boers. I w T ant the liberty-loving people of this country 
to know why official America refuses to sympathize with 
them in their straggle to maintain their independence. 
The Republicans stand up here and talk of freedom, and 
about patriotism, but they dare not pass my resolution 
through this House extending sympathy to the liberty- 
loving and patriotic Boers of South Africa. Official 
America sneezes when Downing Street takes snuff. Re- 
publicans, I dare you to permit this resolution in favor of 
the Boers to come to a vote. 



109 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH IN CONGRESS, FEBRU- 
ARY 6, 1906, IN FAVOR OF THE RAIL- 
ROAD RATE BILL AND GOVERNMENT 
REGULATION OF INTERSTATE COMMON 
CARRIERS. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : In my opinion, this matter of just and 
reasonable railroad rates and the governmental regula- 
tion of transportation companies doing an interstate- 
commerce business is one of the most important ques- 
tions now before the American people. It is a live ques- 
tion, and no matter what we do now, or say now, you 
know and I know that it is here to stay until it is settled 
and settled right ; and the problem never will be solved, 
and the issue will never down, until it is solved and 
settled for the best interest of all the people, and not 
in the interest of the seifish few. 

I have given much careful study to this great subject. 
I know something about it. As a legislator trying my 
best to do my duty as I see it to all the people, I have 
given, and will continue to give, my very best efforts to 
help in the solution of the many problems we are called 
upon in these matters to determine, and they should be 
solved and determined by us in a spirit of fairness and 
equality and equity to all concerned. The highways of 
commerce, the avenues of industry, the byways of trade 
must be open to all ; and every shipper and every pro- 
ducer must be treated exactly alike — no midnight tariffs, 
no rebates, no discriminations, and no favoritism. Equal 
rights to all and special privileges to none must be our 
watchword. 

Now, sir, we all realize, I believe, that the great inter- 
state-transportation agencies of our country are here to 
stay. They are essential to the business of the country. 

110 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES in 



They can not be dispensed with nor destroyed. They 
are as fixed in our commercial life as the hours of the 
day, and as immutable in our industrial existence as the 
medium of exchange. Their mileage, and their equip- 
ment, and their wealth, and their power, and their in- 
fluence will not diminish, but will increase more and 
more as the years come and go. They will continue to 
dominate the people if the people do not take action to 
regulate them. The people of the country are aroused 
on this question. They will keep up the fight until it is 
won. You can beat the people to-day, you can deceive 
the people to-morrow, but the contest between right and 
wrong will go on, and sooner or later the people will 
win. I am with the people in this fight. It is either 
Government regulation now, or Government ownership 
hereafter — take your choice. 

I read not long ago that more than 80 per cent, of the 
enormous railroad mileage which to-day gridirons the 
United States has been constructed since the civil war. 
We have over 215,000 miles of main railroad tracks, and 
the giant spider is still spreading its web of steel in every 
and all directions. And when we take into consideration 
the second, third, and fourth tracks, the sidings and 
terminals, the total foots up to nearly 300,000 miles of 
steel railroad tracks. Just think of that! Sufficient to 
go twelve times around the earth, or make a journey to 
the moon, if such a thing were possible, and have miles 
and miles to spare. We are indeed the greatest rail- 
road country on earth, and will continue to be for a cen- 
tury to come. And if we pause to consider these mar- 
velous figures and facts we must be impressed with the 
consciousness of the far-reaching power and effect of 
the raihvay influence in every line of human industry, 
and if we stop to analyze the volume of traffic handled 
we can not fail to realize how greatly the railway sys- 
tems of our countrv enter into everv phase of modern 
life. 

In 1894 the railroads carried 638,000,000 tons of 
freight. In 1904 the figures more than doubled and 
reached the enormous total of 1,309,000,000 tons, with 
aggregate traffic earnings amounting to the enormous 



112 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

total of $1,977,638,713. Last year they did a largely in- 
creased business, and the figures for 1906 will greatly 
exceed those of last year. In 1895 the records show that 
527,421,000 passengers were carried; in 1904 the figures 
increased to 715,419,000, and when the reports for last 
year are at hand a much larger increase will be evident. 
The figures are bewildering and the facts as startling as 
they are astonishing ; and the end is not yet. 

To transport this vast number of passengers and gi- 
gantic amount of freight, including all varieties of food- 
stuffs, there were ultilized 47,000 engines, 40,000 pas- 
senger cars, and 1,760,000 freight cars. In the operation 
of this great network of railways more than 1,250,000 
men are directly employed, of which 52,000 are engine 
drivers, 55,000 firemen, 40,000 conductors, and 106,000 
trainmen. 

Of course, I know figures are usually uninteresting; 
but these figures are alive with human interest and full 
of flesh and blood activity, because they have to do not 
only with men and measures, but also with our national 
commercial life and our fundamental, political and in- 
dustrial institutions, which should safeguard the interests 
of all the people — but more often do not — and the home 
life, and the very existence of every man who works for 
a livelihood and earns his bread in the sweat of his face. 

The rapid growth of our interstate common-carrier 
systems during the past quarter of a century has been 
simply marvelous, and the tremendous power they wield 
to-day in the intimate political and social and economic 
life of the country is truly inconceivable. The average 
man who rides on a railroad train in comfort and in lux- 
ury to a distant point has little conception of how the 
railway affects even the most intimate details of his ex- 
istence. It is the power that dictates political conven- 
tions and makes nominations ; that seats its well-paid 
lawyers in the courts of justice ; that rules legislatures ; 
that subsidizes the press; that dominates the National 
Congress, and that compels all of us, who must eat to 
maintain life, to pay the price for food v/hich the big 
transportation interests fix directly or indirectly. 

From a systematic investigation of existing conditions 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 113 



and a careful examination of governmental statistics, 
I fearlessly assert that the time is now at hand when 
the Government must take decisive action to regulate the 
great public transportation companies of the country 
doing an interstate-commerce business, or they will ere 
long absolutely own and control the Government, and, 
through their great tentacles stretching out in every 
direction, they will be able to strangle competition, crush 
commercial endeavor, and paralyze individual indus- 
trialism. 

These giant public utility companies, traversing as they 
do every part of our national domain, are so vital a part 
of our complex industrial and economical life that their 
influence affects all things which go to make up our ex- 
istence from day to day. I believe the people are just 
awakening to the consciousness of the real facts and 
the true situation, and in the study of the problem of the 
cost of living are finding out for themselves what recent 
economic writers have shown conclusively, and that is 
how 7 the control and the power and the operation of rail- 
roads in this country overshadow every other factor of 
human existence. 

I am with the people in this railroad fight for justice. 
I have great personal regard for the distinguished chair- 
man of the committee reporting this bill, but I would be 
false to myself and to this great cause if I did not hon- 
estly say that I believe that he and all the members of 
the committee could have presented to this House, under 
all the circumstances, a very much better bill, and I trust 
I will be pardoned if I am impelled by my sense of duty, 
and my conception of the gravity of the situation, and 
the importance of the subject-matter, to point out in 
the kindliest way some of the serious defects, some of the 
glaring errors, and what I consider after all the vital 
weakness of the pending measure. 

Everyone familiar with the subject is aware of the 
fact that for years there have been secret rebates and 
unlawful discriminations by railroad companies and other 
transportation corporations to favored shippers. These 
discriminations and these favoritisms are criminal and 
must be stopped, and if the laws on the statute books now 



H4 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

are not strong enough to put a stop to them, then we 
must make new laws rigid enough to put an end to them 
in this country forever. Whether this bill will stop them 
or not I do not now undertake to say, but I do hope that 
the bill will be materially amended ere it becomes a law. 
with the object of more effectually stopping them. I 
know of no greater injustice to the producers of our 
country than to have a transportation company give a 
rebate to one shipper at the expense of all the others. 
There should be no favoritism ; the rate should be the 
same for all shippers and for all producers ; equal rates, 
equal rights,, and equal opportunities for all should be 
the rule. But we know the history of the past, and we 
do know of many cases where one shipper has been 
favored at the expense of all the other shippers until 
the favored shipper controlled the product or the in- 
dustry, drove out of business every competitor, and ulti- 
mately secured a complete monopoly. 

If you will read the testimony which has been adduced 
in several investigations heretofore held at the instance 
of the Government you will readily comprehend the 
truth of this proposition. But I do not care at this time 
to go into details or to be too critical. I am an optimist. 
I hope for the best ; and I trust the bill will be amended, 
become a law, and accomplish some good. I shall do my 
best to improve the bill by amendments, if they will be 
permitted; but I can not refrain now from telling what 
I actually believe and to voice my convictions and say 
that the bill in its present shape is not satisfactory to the 
real friends of Federal regulation. It is a good deal of 
a makeshift. 

It is apparent to me that if this bill were intended to 
compel the railroads to live up to the law now on the 
statute books, if it were a bill to force the transportation 
companies to give fair and just and reasonable rates to 
every producer and to even* shipper, you would find 
these halls filled with railroad lawyers and lobbyists pro- 
testing against the passage of the bill; and I am frank 
to say that the bill would not meet with so very little 
opposition. But I have not heard of a railroad protest- 
ing against the passage of this bill. I have not seen nor 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



ii5 



heard of a single railroad lawyer who has been sent here 
to argue against the progress of the bill ; and so, as I say, 
I am inclined to be doubtful as to the effectiveness of the 
remedy proposed in tire pending measure. 

Mr. Grosvenor: Mr. Chairman 

The Chairman : Does the gentleman from New Yo: k 
yield to the gentleman from Ohio? 

Mr. Sulzer: Yes; I always yield to the gentleman. 

Mr. Grosvenor: Would the gentleman from New 
York know a lobbyist when he saw one ? 

Mr. Sulzer: Well, that depends. I do not pretend 
to be familiar with lobbyists ; but I know a few railroad 
lawyers when I see them. I have been a practitioner of 
the law for a number of years, but I have never been 
retained by any of the great interstate-commerce rail- 
roads. I have been retained, however, now and then by 
a few sensible clients to institute suits against railroads, 
and my clients will inform those desirous of knowledge 
concerning the matter that I have generally succe 3ded in 
securing for them a speedy trial, justice, and a square 
deal. As a legislator my sympathies have always been 
with the under dog, with the poor and the oppressed, 
with the toiler and the breadwinner; and whenever an 
injustice was committed by some powerful corporation 
against the weak and the helpless I have been on the 
latter's side; and as a lawyer my field of professional 
endeavor has been along the lines of helping the poor 
and the distressed ; and I suppose I am so constituted 
that I will continue to do so all the rest of my life, to 
the loss no doubt of my bank account, but with the ap- 
proval of my conscience. 

I could have been a railroad lawyer had I desired to 
enter that field of human activity ; in fact, I have received 
one or two offers in my time to devote my energies to 
that branch of the law. I recollect a very flattering offer 
made to me a few years ago of $25,000 a year; but I 
never was very anxious to make money, for with me 
money is a secondary consideration; and I have pre- 
ferred to pursue the even tenor of the simple life, to 
work out my professional salvation in my own way and 
my political career along my own lines. I work pretty 



n6 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



hard here in the Halls of Congress, day in and day out, 
week in and week out, trying to do the right thing for 
my constituents and the square thing for the good of the 
people generally throughout the country. I am content 
with my work ; I rather like it. I have cast my lot along 
the pleasant sunshiny highways of humanity; but some- 
times it seems to me that almost every man in the land 
who has a grievance, or thinks he has a grievance, comes 
to me to set things right and to secure him justice. I 
spend a great deal of valuable time investigating some of 
these complaints, and it takes much labor to do so con- 
scientiously ; but whenever I find a case that is really and 
truly a worthy cause I do not fear or hesitate to take up 
the burden of the fight and do the best I can. This may 
be altruistic, and I know that often my efforts are unap- 
preciated, derided, misconstrued, and futile, but I sup- 
pose, nevertheless, that I will go on doing so to the end 
of my time, because — 

"I kr.Dw that the world, that the great big world, 

From the pauper up to the king, 
Has a different tale from the tale I tell, 

And a different song to sing ; 
Eut for me, I care not a single fig 

If they say I'm wrong or I'm right, 
For Fll always go in, if I go in at all, 

For the under dog in the fight/' 



A FEW GOOD WORDS FOR THE LIFE-SAVERS. 



On March 17, 1908, Mr. Sulzer said in Congress : 

Mr, Speaker : I only want to say a word. In my opin- 
ion, this is a commendable bill. I know something of the 
life-savers of our country, and I know their story of self- 
sacrifice and heroism. It is one of the brightest pages 
in American history. These men deserve well of the 
Government. Their heroic deeds on our coasts speak 
in trumpet tones in their behalf. These life-savers of the 
Republic are the hardest worked and the bravest and 
most efficient men in the public service. They should get 
more pay and more credit for what they do, and I will 
go as far as any man in Congress in their behalf. I am 
their friend, and I want to help them, in Congress or out 
of Congress, in any way I can. All honor and all glory 
to our brave and heroic life-savers. 



117 



THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. 



Mr. Sulzer is the author in Congress of the bill to 
create a Department of Transportation, with a Secretary 
of Transportation having a seat in the Cabinet. 

Speaking for the Bill in the House on March n, 1908, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, the bill just read by the Clerk, introduced 
by me, to create the Department of Transportation, is a 
most comprehensive measure, dealing in a logical way 
and a practicable manner with this great interstate-com- 
merce transportation problem. The measure provides for 
particular officials in the new department to investigate, 
report on, and regulate steam and electric railways, tele- 
graphs, telephones, waterway traffic, pipe lines, and the 
express business. Powers are conferred on the depart- 
ment to obtain full information not only as to rates and 
other traffic arrangements, but as to the genuine capital 
employed, the resources and liabilities, earnings, divi- 
dends, etc. ; and penalties are fixed, such as heavy fines 
and ineligibility of directors to retain their office when 
they have made false reports or defied the officials seeking 
information. 

The purpose of the bill is not to interfere with the 
work of the Interstate Commerce Commission in exam- 
ining into and regulating rates, but to assist in the work 
of compelling the transportation companies to obey the 
law, as all others are expected to do ; and if this bill were 
placed on the statute books, I feel confident it would help 
very much, and go very far to solve some of the intricate 
questions presented by these powerful interstate trans- 
portation systems. 

I believe, sir, that if a simple bill were prepared and 

118 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 119 



enacted into law, making the giving or receiving of a 
rebate a felony, and the power conferred on the Inter- 
state Commerce Commission, where rates were unjust 
and unreasonable, to fix just and reasonable rates and 
maintain the same, unless modified or set aside by the 
court of last resort, and my bill, which has just been read 
by the Clerk, placed by its side on the statute books, that 
the cause of the people would triumph, thai the Govern- 
ment would control the situation, and be able to regulate 
the great interstate transportation systems of our coun- 
try, instead of the great interstate transportation com- 
panies controlling and dominating the Government. 

I have given much time and careful study to the prob- 
lems which we have been debating here for the past 
week, and which are and have been live questions before 
the people of this country for the past ten or fifteen 
years; and I believe that if we had a Department of 
Transportation to regulate the railroads and the trans- 
portation companies of the country, as provided in my 
bill, and to see to it that they did not violate the law, and 
if they did violate the law that the penalties of existing 
laws were speedily enforced against them, I believe that 
most of the problems would be solved and the question 
at issue settled in justice to all and with injury to none. 

This bill of mine, sir, to create the Department of 
Transportation has been approved in editorials by some 
of the leading American newspapers. It has met with 
most favorable comment by many of the leading political 
writers and philosophical thinkers and railway econo- 
mists of the land ; and I believe that sooner or later this 
bill of mine, or some measure of a similar character, will 
be enacted into law by the Congress of the United 
States. It is the first attempt that has ever been made 
in this country to deal with this interstate-transportation 
problem in a scienific manner and a practicable business 
way. 

I have received numerous letters from all over the 
country in favor of this bill to create the Department 
of Transportation to regulate the gre^ t interstate trans- 
portation companies of the country and to be able to see 
to it that they obey the law and do no injury to the peo- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



pie. I have taken this opportunity to put the bill in the 
Record as a party of my speech, and I give notice to the 
Members of the House that I shall do all in my power 
to get my measure, with all that it means, before the 
people generally of the country, so that those who are 
really interested in this great transportation question can 
read it for themselves, in connection with the matters 
now under discussion, and can study its features and 
their application to the problems we are endeavoring to 
solve ; and I believe that those who look deeply and care- 
fully into the subject and who truly and earnestly desire 
to accomplish something of a permanent character to 
compel the railways and other interstate transportation 
corporations, including the steamboats, the telegraph, the 
telephone, the express, and the pipe line companies, to 
obey the law of the land, will agree with me, that this 
proposed legislation, embodied in this bill introduced by 
me, goes further than any other plan heretofore con- 
ceived to treat all the matters involved in this discussion 
in a practical business way and in a comprehensive gov- 
ernmental manner. 

I shall do my best, Mr. Speaker, in Congress and out 
of Congress, to make this bill a law. I do not say it is 
perfect. I know in the first instance that no proposed 
constructive legislation is absolutely perfect; but I do 
claim that it is practicable, that it is comprehensive, that 
it is constitutional, and that it will go further in every 
way than any other plan thus far proposed to effectually 
check the evils which have grown up during the last 
twenty-five years in connection with our interstate trans- 
portation corporations, and do more than any other thing 
thus far suggested to remedy all the intestate transpor- 
tation evils so bitterly complained of, at the present 
time, by the people of the United States. I shall wel- 
come letters of approval, or suggestions and criticisms 
concerning this bill, from any and every citizen of our 
country who will take the trouble to study this broad 
and complete measure and the time to write me his views 
concerning it. 

I say, and those who have studied this subject suffi- 
ciently to speak intelligently about it I think will agree 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 121 



with me, that the real solution of the problems presented 
in connection with the evils growing out of abuses by 
great interstate transportation systems is publicity and 
the rigid and prompt enforcement of the law, and this 
can only be done and accomplished by Government regu- 
lation and Government supervision of these interstate 
transportation corporations. It is just as practicable 
from a business view, and a governmental standpoint, 
as the supervision and the regulation by the Government 
of the national banks, and I say just as necessary. The 
railroads must be the servants of the people — not their 
masters. 

This bill is in the interest of the toilers of our land, the 
shippers and producers of our country, and the people 
generally. I say the bill is a good bill, a just bill, a 
comprehensive bill, and a feasible constructive scheme of 
practical legislation along proper and intelligent lines to 
eradicate intrenched wrongs that are to-day oppressing 
the people and doing a great injustice to the citizens of 
this country. 

Mr. Speaker, legislative reforms are things of slow 
growth. It takes years of agitation to create sufficient 
public opinion to write a new law upon the statute books 
in the interest of all the people. It takes a long time for 
the people to win ; but the truth will and must eventually 
prevail if one man dare assert it every day. So the 
truth of this proposition will win in the end. 

The vast extent of the interstate transportation prob- 
lem and the pressing and urgent importance of legislative 
remedies to correct existing evils to all the people of the 
United States are ample warrant for Congress to give 
this question the deepest investigation and the fullest 
consideration. There are many bills now before Con- 
gress affecting this question, some good, some bad, some 
indifferent, but no one of the bills, in my opinion, is a 
complete solution of all the questions involved in the 
problem. Hence the disposition on the part of some of 
the Republican leaders, which must be manifest to all, 
to rush through some plainly imperfect bill, to railroad 
to the Senate some defective measure, a::d then attempt 
to wash their hands of all further responsibility in the 



122 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



matter, as was done in the last Congress with the Esch- 
Townsend bill, is a procedure that should not commend 
itself to the Members of this House, and I know will not 
be approved by the people. 

I do not claim that my bill is a panacea for all the 
evils growing out of the interstate transportation prob- 
lem. But I do assert that my bill proposes to settle, and 
settle right and for a long time to come, a most impor- 
tant phase of this abstruse and intricate question, and to 
do it in a thorough, prompt, practical, effective, and busi- 
nesslike way, by publicity, and by the enforcement of 
the laws of our country affecting every company and 
corporation doing an interstate-commerce transportation 
business. This will include all railways, all steamboats, 
all express companies, all pipe lines, all telephone lines, 
and all telegraph lines, and the Government will be able 
to make investigations, secure the information, collect the 
data, and effectually deal with the questions involved 
through the instrumentalities created in this bill in an 
intelligent way and a comprehensive manner. 

If this bill becomes a law the Government will be in a 
position to have in its power the agency to gather data, 
ascertain facts, get information, make investigations, 
enforce its orders, and prevent evils and wrongs by the 
strict and speedy execution of the laws now on the stat- 
ute books, and if those laws are not sufficient to stop 
the evils complained of by the people, then the Govern- 
ment can recommend to Congress the enactment of ad- 
ditional laws to effectually eradicate every evil in connec- 
tion with the interstate transportation problem. 

Mr. Speaker, in studying this great question I am 
satisfied that three things are absolutely necessary to be 
done, at the present time, to effectually deal with the 
problems arising from the abuses of these interstate 
transportation systems. 

First, there must be a body like the Interstate Com- 
merce Commission, clothed with the right and authority 
to make just, fair, and reasonable rates in place of un- 
just, unfair, and unreasonable rates, and have these rates 
take effect immediately, and remain in full force and 
effect until modified or set aside by the Commission; or 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



123 



modified or set aside by the court of last resort. This is 
an administrative function and should be the sole and 
only power under the constitutional limitations of our 
Government conferred on the Interstate Commerce Com- 
mission. 

Second. There must be a body clothed with authority 
to determine controversies, review the orders of the In- 
terstate Commerce Commission, and interpret the laws of 
Congress governing and regulating transportation. This 
is a judicial function, and should properly be vested in 
the courts of our country. 

Third. There should be an executive department in 
the National Government, with a Cabinet officer at its 
head, charged with the responsibility and the duty of 
the prompt and thorough enforcement of the laws of 
the United States concerning companies and corporations 
doing an interstate-commerce business. My bill creates 
this department. This is an executive function, and be- 
longs to the executive branch of the Government; and 
these three functions should always be kept separate and 
distinct. 

Now r , sir, I think I have stated the proposition broadly 
and briefly. I have drawn my bill to create such a de- 
partment in the executive branch of the Government, for 
the effective and speedy enforcement of the laws govern- 
ing every company, and every corporation doing an in- 
terstate-commerce carrying business. My plan is in line 
with the true principles of our institutions from the days 
of the fathers down to the present time, and when it is 
adopted by Congress, and it must be adopted sooner or 
later, it will provide the quickest agency for the proper 
and speedy execution of the laws against flagrant viola- 
tions of our statutes ; and, to my mind, after mature re- 
flection and careful consideration I believe it w T ill prove 
an effectual remedy for the principal evils we are trying 
to check and to stop; and for once and for all time 
eradicate from the body politic and our system of gov- 
ernment the abuses of the great interstate-transportation 
companies of our country. 



MR. SULZER FAVORS THE TUBERCULOSIS 
CONGRESS. 



(From Speech in Congress, May 18, 1908.) 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Air. Speaker, this is a most important matter. I take 
an abiding interest in this tuberculosis congress. It will 
probably be one of the most important conventions, so 
far as material benefits are concerned, which has ever 
assembled in this or any other country. It seems to me, 
therefore, that we ought to provfde in some way, some- 
how, suitable accommodations for the assembling of 
these distinguished experts who are doing so much for 
science, and giving so much of their valuable time to 
this appalling subject, the great white plague, which is 
decimating humanity every year to a much greater ex- 
tent than all the wars in all the world. I hope the bill 
will be agreed to. It is a good measure and should be 
adopted unanimously. Anything that will check the 
progress of this frightful plague will be a boon to hu- 
manity most devoutly to be wished. 



124 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH IN FAVOR OF SAN 
FRANCISCO FOR THE PANAMA EXPOSI- 
TION. 



SPEECH OF MR. SULZER IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, JANUARY 31, 191 1. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: I shall vote for San Francisco as the 
most desirable place in which to commemorate the open- 
ing of the Panama Canal. The completion of the great 
canal will be the consummation of the hopes of the great 
world builders and the realization of the constructive 
dreamers of four centuries. It will mark the engineering 
triumph of all the ages. It will divide the continents, 
connect the oceans, extend our coast line, and make us 
invulnerable on land and sea. We should fittingly cele- 
brate the completion of this gigantic undertaking. The 
Panama Canal is ours. We have built it, we will own 
it, and we will protect it forever. We want a Panama 
year, and 1915 is written as the time and San Francisco 
should be the place in our glorious coming annals. 

Sir, in the interest of the people I have carefully con- 
sidered the best place in which to hold this celebration 
and have come to the irresistible conclusion that the only 
suitable place to do justice to the Panama exposition is 
the beautiful city of San Francisco. There are many 
reasons for this judgment. In the short time allowed to 
me for discussion I can not go into all of them, but one 
reason is enough, and that is the opening in 1915 of the 
Panama Canal will extend the coast line of the United 
States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The stupendous 
work is essentially a Pacific project, and the commercial 
metropolis of the Pacific Ocean is beyond question San 
Francisco — the city of boundless hospitality, the city of 

125 



126 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



warm hearts and glad hands, the greatest cosmopolitan 
city on all the broad Pacific. She needs no eulogy. Her 
story is the pride of America. 

All credit to the intrepid citizens of San Francisco. 
They know no such w"; i as fail. All glory to the new 
San Francisco. She ha- risen phoenixlike from her ashes 
— greater and grander than ever — the wonder of the 
world. The people of San Francisco are determined to 
demonstrate to all the world the progress they are 
achieving in everything that makes for the advancement 
of humanity. They ask the Government for no help. 
They want no gift. They appeal for no loan. All they 
ask is that the Government recognize the importance of 
their celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal, 
lend its official indorsement, take part in it, build its own 
buildings, make its own exhibits, do so at its own ex- 
pense, officially invite the other nations to do likewise — 
and San Francisco will do the rest. 

The Government has aided financially every exposition 
of a national character ever held in this country. No 
Government aid is asked by San Francisco for this 
Panama exposition — not a dollar is sought, directly or 
indirectly — only suitable recognition and the extension 
of an official invitation to all the world to come, to see, 
and to participate. 

The San Francisco exposition will be in the interest of 
all the people. It will materially benefit all sections of 
our country. In an educational way it will be a blessing 
to all the world. Then why should the Government re- 
fuse the request of San Francisco ? I can not believe that 
we shall be so blind to our own best interests as to per- 
mit this legislation to fail. Congress should lend a 
friendly recognition to the enterprising and progressive 
people on our Pacific borders. They are entitled to it. 
They are doing a great work, that benefits all the people 
of our country. This exposition will bring to the atten- 
tion of the world the wonderful natural resources and 
the great commercial possibilities of the countries bor- 
dering on the Pacific, and do much to strengthen the 
friendly trade relations of the nations on the ocean of 
the Orient. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 127 



Mr. Speaker, I am a friend of San Francisco. All 
things considered, she deserves the honor of the Panama 
exposition. Select as the celebration city the beautiful 
metropolis of the Pacific coast and it will be for the good 
of all. The Panama exposition will be a memorable 
milestone, marking a great epoch in our onward and 
upward progress. It will diffuse knowledge, educate the 
people, and exhibit the wonderful resources of our coun- 
try and the constructive genius of our people. It will 
mean ocular demonstration, a great object lesson along 
historical, and educational, and mechanical, and com- 
mercial lines. It will mean triumph and advancement 
and enlightenment — and all for humanity. It will em- 
phasize our greatness and our grandeur and our glory. 
It will illustrate our marvelous growth in every line of 
human effort, and demonstrate the giant strides our citi- 
zens are making along every avenue of industrial 
progress. 



THE COUNTRY NEEDS GOOD ROADS. 



SPEECH DELIVERED BY MR. SULZER, FOR FEDERAL AID TO 
GOOD ROADS., IN CONGRESS, MAY 29, I908. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : For years I have been an earnest ad- 
vocate of good-road building. Good roads mean prog- 
ress and prosperity, a benefit to the people who live in 
the cities, an advantage to the people who live in the 
country, and it will help every section of our vast do- 
main. 

Good roads, like good streets, make habitation along 
them most desirable; they enhance the value of farm 
lands, facilitate transportation, and add untold wealth 
to the producers and consumers of the country; they 
are the mile stones marking the advance of civilization; 
they economize time, give labor a lift, and make millions 
in money ; they save wear and tear and worry and waste ; 
they beautify the country — bring it in touch with the 
city; they aid the social and religious and educational 
and the industrial progress of the people; they make 
better homes and happier firesides ; they are the avenues 
of trade, the highways of commerce, the mail routes of 
information, and the agencies of speedy communication ; 
they mean the economical transportation of marketable 
products — the maximum burden at the minimum cost; 
they are the ligaments that bind the country together in 
thrift and industry and intelligence and patriotism; they 
promote social intercourse, prevent intellectual stagna- 
tion, and increase the happiness and prosperity of our 
producing masses; they contribute to the glory of the 
city and the country, give employment to our idle work- 
men, distribute the necessaries of life— the products of 
the fields and the forests and the factories — encourage 

128 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



129 



energy and husbandry, inculcate love for our scenic won- 
ders, and make mankind better and broader and greater. 

The plain people of the land are familiar with the 
truths of history. They know the past. They realize that 
often the difference between good roads and bad roads 
is the difference between profit and loss. Good roads 
have a money value far beyond our ordinary conception. 
Bad roads constitute our greatest drawback to internal 
development and material progress. Good roads mean 
prosperous farmers ; bad roads mean abandoned farms, 
sparsely settled country districts, and congested popu- 
lated cities, where the poor are destined to become 
poorer. Good roads mean more cultivated farms and 
cheaper food products for the toiler in the cities; bad 
roads mean poor transportation, lack of communication, 
high prices for the necessaries of life, the loss of untold 
millions of wealth, and idle workmen seeking employ- 
ment. Good roads will help those who cultivate the soil 
and feed the multitudes, and whatever aids the producers 
and the farmers of our country will increase our wealth 
and our greatness and benefit all the people. We can 
not destroy our farms without final decay. They are 
to-day the heart of our national life and the chief source 
of our material greatness. Tear down every edifice in 
our cities and labor will rebuild them, but abandon the 
farms and our cities will disappear forever. 

One of the crying needs in this country, especially in 
the South and West, is good roads. The establishment 
of good roads w r ould, in a measure, solve the question of 
the high price of food and the increasing cost of living. 
By reducing the cost of transportation, it would enable 
the farmer to market his produce at a lower price and at 
a larger profit at the same time. It would bring com- 
munities closer together and in touch with the centers of 
population, thereby facilitating the commerce of ideas 
as well as of material products. 

When the agricultural protection alone of the United 
States for the past eleven years totals $70,000,000,000, 
a sum that staggers the imagination, and when w r e con- 
sider that it cost more to take this product from the farm 
to the railway station than from such station to the 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



American and European markets, and when the saving 
in cost of moving this product of agriculture over good 
highways instead of bad would have built a million miles 
of good roads, the incalculable waste of bad roads in this 
country is shown to be of such enormous proportions as 
to demand immediate reformation and the exercise of 
the wisest and best statesmanship. 

But great as is the loss to transportation, mercantile, 
industrial, and farming interests, incomparably greater 
is the material loss to the women and children and the 
social life, a matter as important as civilization itself. 
The truth of the declaration of Charles Sumner fifty 
years ago, that "the two greatest forces for the advance- 
ment of civilization are the schoolmaster and good roads," 
is emphasized by the experience of the intervening years 
and points to the wisdom of a union of the educational, 
commercial, transportation, and industrial interests of 
our country in aggressive action for permanent good 
roads. 



\ 



EULOGY ON THE LATE RICHARD P. BLAND. 



(In Congress, April 7, 1900.) 

THE LATE RICHARD PARKS BLAND. 

Saturday, April 7, 1900. 

The House having under consideration the following 
resolutions : 

"Resolved, That the business of the House be now 
suspended in order that suitable tribute may be paid to 
the high character and eminent public services of the 
Hon. Richard Parks Bland, late a most distinguished 
member of the House of Representatives of the United 
States from the State of Missouri. 

"Resolved, That as a mark of respect for the memory 
of the deceased the House, at the conclusion of these 
memorial exercises, shall stand adjourned. 

"Resolved, That the Clerk of the House transmit a 
copy of these resolutions to the family of the deceased 
statesman and inform the Senate of the action of this 
body." 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: With all that has been so eloquently 
and so affectionately said here to-day regarding the life 
and character of the late Richard P. Bland, I concur, 
and I would not be true to myself and to my friendship 
and admiration for him if I did not on this sad occasion 
place on record my humble tribute to his memory. 

For years Mr. Bland has been a prominent national 
figure and his name a household word. He had friends 
and followers and admirers in every hamlet and every 
State in the Union. His untimely death was a sad and 

131 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



terrible shock to us all, and to his country an irretriev- 
able loss. When he died, the whole nation mourned and 
sympathized with his bereaved family, and the Republic 
lost as true and sincere a patriot as ever lived. He was 
a true man, a friend of the plain people, generous and 
forgiving, sincere and patriotic, honest and truthful 
zealous and indefatigable in the cause of right and jus- 
tice. For a quarter of a century he was a towering pil- 
lar of the Republic. The work he did is a part of the 
history of our country, and it is fitting and proper that 
his colleagues in this House should set aside a day to 
justly commemorate his name and fame. As the years 
come and go he will be better understood and more ap- 
preciated. Posterity will give him a higher place in the 
Temple of Fame, and future generations will pay his 
memory greater homage. 

Richard Parks Bland was born near Hartford, Ky.. 
on the 19th day of August. 1855. and died at his home 
in Lebanon. Mo., on the 15th day of Tune. 1899. He 
received an academic education. He was an unwearied 
student and an apt scholar. In 1855 he removed to 
Missouri and shortly thereafter to California, thence 
to that portion of Utah now Nevada, locating in Vir- 
ginia City, where he practiced law for a time. He was 
interested in mining operations in California and Ne- 
vada: was county treasurer of Carson County, Utah 
Territory, from i860 until the organization of the State 
government of Nevada; returned to Missouri in 1865: 
located at Rolla, Mo., and practiced law with his brother. 
C. C. Bland, until he removed to Lebanon, in August. 
1869, and continued his practice there : was elected to 
the Forty-third. Forty-fourth. Forty-fifth. Forty-sixth, 
Forty-seventh, Forty-eighth. Forty-ninth, Fiftieth, Fifty- 
first, Fifty-second, Fifty-third, Fifty-fifth, and Fifty- 
sixth Congresses. 

The work he did for the toilers of the land and the 
beneficient results he accomplished for struggling hu- 
manity during his long career as a member of this House 
must ever be a part of the imperishable history of the 
country, and the future historian impartially writing the 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 133 



legislative story of the last twenty-five years of the 
American Congress will place him in the front rank of 
constructive statesmen. That record is the heritage he 
left his countrymen and will be for all time to come the 
monument of his undying fame. It stands for absolute 
truth, exact justice, eternal principles, equality before 
the law, and equal rights for all. 

He was no respecter of persons, no hero worshiper. 
He believed in humanity and trusted the people. He had 
faith in the greatness and the endurance of the Republic, 
and battled all his life to perpetuate our free institutions 
and hand them down unimpaired to future generations. 
He was a plain, simple man who loved his fellow-man. 
He was a believer in the fundamental principles that 
constitute our national existence and he trod the path of 
the patriot fathers. He was a disciple of Thomas Jeffer- 
son and struggled to keep the Government pure and in 
the control of the people. He turned his back on caste, 
combated privilege, and was the relentless foe of private 
monopoly. He was a unique man in many ways. His 
nature was without guile ; he hated cant, spurned pre- 
tense, and despised hypocrisy. He was the friend of the 
Constitution, and no argument, no sophistry, could per- 
suade him from the path of duty. He did his works 
bravely and fearlessly in the face of obstacles that would 
appall a weaker and a more timid man. 

In the great battle for the people's rights he never 
wearied, and the marshaled hosts of error never con- 
quered him. Year in and year out he fought the good 
fight ; he kept the faith. He lived truly, he thought truly, 
and he spoke truly. His life was as placid as a summer 
stream, and made him loved by all who knew him. His 
words uttered here for the defenseless were always re- 
spectfully listened to by admiring friends and doubting 
opponents, and were read and reread by innumerabl-e 
millions. He spoke the truth for the countless who were 
robbed and oppressed for the enrichment and the benefit 
of the few, and he knew the truth would ultimately tri- 
umph and that his efforts for the rights of the people 
w r ould sooner or later be crowned with success. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



'Think truly, and thy thought 

Shall the world's great famine feed ; 

Speak truly, and each word of thine 
Shall be a fruitful seed ; 

Live truly, and thy life shall be 
A grand and noble creed." 

Such a man was Richard Parks Bland — a truly great, 
a truly good, a truly honest man in all things. 

The great and immortal truths he uttered were not 
uttered in vain. They have borne and will continue to 
bear abundant fruit. His cause will live, and, in my 
opinion, the day is not far distant when the principles he 
contended for will be written on the statute books of 
America, an everlasting monument to his wisdom, his 
foresight, and his unerring judgment. The martyr dies; 
the cause survives. Man goeth to his long home, but his 
works live after him. 

Mr. Bland was a faithful public servant. He never 
betrayed a friend, a trust, or a principle. He always 
fought fair and open and aboveboard. He never re- 
sorted to trickery, to device, or to chicanery, He had no 
tricks of speech. He was a plain, blunt man, who never 
used words to conceal thoughts. He told the truth and 
told it in the simplest and most direct way. He went to 
the root of the subject. His heart was in all he did, in 
all he said, and he was great and eloquent and impressive 
because he was simple, honest, and sincere, and every 
word he uttered had the genuine ring of truth. He never 
despaired. He had the rectitude and patience of the 
rocks, the hope of the stream rushing to meet the ocean, 
the fidelity of the sun. 

He believed in equal opportunity, encouraged worth, 
applauded manly effort, and wanted man to be free and 
stand erect. He was a great commoner ; he sympathized 
with those who toil and struggle ; he believed in the love 
of home, the sanctity of the hearthside, and his great 
responsive heart went out to comfort the sad, the sorrow- 
ing, and the disconsolate. He was the foe of tyranny, 
the enemy of bigotry, the eternal adversary of oppres- 
sion. He was the champion of the masses, the friend of 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 135 



the downtrodden, the pioneer and the leader of the re- 
form forces of the Republic against the serried ranks of 
the predatory classes. 

Humanity was his constituency,, to do good his politi- 
cal creed. He stood for the weak against the strong, for 
the lowly against the powerful, for the oppressed against 
the oppressor, for the right against the wrong, for truth 
against error, for every cause that lacked assistance, and, 
above all and beyond all, he stood, in all places and at all 
times, for the rights of man. Y\ "hen he died a great tree 
in the forests of the people fell and a great light in the 
Republic went out. We who follow 7 after him, imbued 
with his noble example and inspired by his civic virtues, 
will heroically take up his burden, push forward his 
cause, and continue his fight until the battle is won and 
the mighty principles he contended for are forever tri- 
umphant. I believe if he were here to-day this would 
be his message, his wish to us, and that he would say to 
all as the poetess of America has so truly said to the 
world : 

u Let those who have failed take courage, 

Though the enemy seemed to have won. 
Though his ranks are strong, if he be in the wrong, 

The battle is not yet done. 
For sure as the morning follows 

The darkest hour of the night, 
Xo question is ever settled 

Until it is settled right. 

O man bowed down with labor, 

O woman young, yet old, 
O heart oppressed in the toiler's breast 

And crushed by the power of gold, 
Keep on with your weary battle 

Against triumphant might, 
No question is ever settled 

Until it is settled right." 



AN ELOQUENT TRIBUTE TO LABOR. 



{From Speech of Mr. Sulzer in Congress, in Favor of 
His Bill to Establish a Department of Labor, May 
15, 1908.) 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : No man can pay too high a tribute to 
"labor/' It is the creative force of the world, the genius 
of accomplishment of the brain and the brawn of man, 
the spirit of all progress, and the milestones marking the 
advance of nations. Civilization owes everything to 
labor — to the constructive toiler and the creative worker. 
Labor owes very little to civilization. Mother Earth is 
labor's best friend. From her forests and her fields, 
from her rocks and her rivers, the toiler has wrought 
all and brought forth the wonders of the world. 

Labor is not of to-day, or of yesterday, or of to-mor- 
row. It is eternal. Dynasties come and go, govern- 
ments rise and fall, centuries succeed centuries, but labor 
goes on forever. Labor is the everlasting law of life. 

Tear down your temples and labor will replace them; 
close every avenue of trade and labor will reopen them ; 
destroy your towns and labor will rebuild them greater 
and grander than they were ; but destroy labor, and fam- 
ine will stalk the land, and pestilence will decimate the 
human race. If every laborer in the world should cease 
work for ninety days, it would cause the greatest catas- 
trophe that ever befell mankind — a tragedy to the human 
race impossible to depict and too frightful to contem- 
plate. 

Mr. Speaker, let us be just to labor. I am now, always 
have been, and always will be the friend of the toilers — 
of the farmers, and the wage-earners of America — of 
those who earn their bread in the sweat of their face. 

136 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 137 



The record of my life, in the legislature of my State, 
and in the Congress of the United States, will prove the 
truth and the sincerity of these words. 

I stand for the rights of man. I am an individualist, 
and I want to open the door of opportunity to every in- 
dividual in the land. I want to do all I can to make the 
world better and happier and more prosperous. I believe 
in the dignity of labor, and I want to do everything I can 
as a legislator to protect its inherent rights and promote 
its best interests for the lasting benefit of all the people 
of the country. I want labor to have as much standing 
as capital in the halls of Congress and at the seat of 
government. 

We have a Department to represent war ; we have 
a Department to represent diplomacy ; we have a De- 
partment to represent our internal affairs ; we have a 
Department to represent commerce; we have a Depart- 
ment to represent justice — all supported by the wage- 
earners, and in the name of common sense why should 
we not have a Department to represent industrial peace 
as exemplified by labor, the most important in its last 
analysis of them all? The creation of a Department of 
Labor will be a long step in the right direction in the 
new century's progress for harmony and for industrial 
peace, and through its agency, in my judgment, many 
perplexing problems can be quickly solved in a way that 
will do substantial justice to all concerned. 

Labor makes no war on vested rights. It does not rail 
at honestly acquired wealth. It is not antagonistic to 
legitimate capital. It would close no door to oppor- 
tunity. It would darken no star of hope. It would not 
palsy initiation nor paralyze ambition. It stands for the 
rights of man; for the greatness of individualism; for 
equal rights to all and special privileges to none ; and so 
I declare that captal and labor must be friends, not 
enemies. They should act in harmony. Their interests 
should be mutual, not antagonistic. In our complex 
civilization each is essential to the other, and they should 
walk hand in hand. To prosper, they must be at peace, 
not at war. Each is necessary to the other. Both have 
their rights and both have their limitations. 



138 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



The inherent rights of labor are as sacred as the vested 
rights of capital. Labor makes capital— creates all wealth 
— and should have, to say the least, equal opportunities 
and as much consideration ; but the trouble seems to be 
that labor does not receive a fair share of what it pro- 
duces. It is the duty of the legislator to see to it that 
there is less centralization of wealth and a more equita- 
ble distribution of the fruits of toil. 

Labor has as much right to organize as capital. The 
right of a man to labor is inalienable, and the right of a 
man to quit work is just as undeniable. Neither capital 
nor labor has the right to take the law in its own hands. 
If capital does wrong that is no reason why labor should 
do wrong, or vice versa. Two wrongs never did and 
never will make a right. In a government such as ours, 
the reign of law must not and will not give way to the 
reign of force. 

The best advice that any friend can give labor, or- 
ganized or otherwise, in its struggle for its just rights, 
for better conditions, for greater progress, and for a 
more equitable distribution of its fruits, is obey the law. 
Labor's only hope is here. This is a land of liberty, but 
it is now, ever was, and always will be, liberty under 
law. 



IN FAVOR OF THE UNITED STATES BUYING 
AND OWNING ITS OWN LEGATIONS AND 
EMBASSIES ABROAD. 

Mr. Sulzer is the author of the Bill in Congress. 
Speaking for the bill on February n, 1910, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Sulzer : Mr. Chairman, I rise for the purpose of 
making an inquiry. I ask if this bill carries any appro- 
priation or provision for the purchase or the acquisition 
of sites for legations and embassies in the capital cities 
of the world? 

Mr. Perkins : It does not. 

Mr. Sulzer : In this connection I just want to say 
that I am in favor of the Government buying and own- 
ing in all foreign countries suitable residences for its 
ministers and ambassadors. I hope the plan will be 
adopted by the committee and carried out in a separate 
bill. There is such a bill. 

Mr. Perkins : There is. 

Mr. Sulzer: Has the bill been reported? 

Mr. Perkins: It has been reported from the com- 
mittee. 

Mr. Sulzer : I am very glad to know that, and I trust 
the bill will soon pass and become a law. In my judg- 
ment it will be wise, economical, and democratic for us 
to adopt a plan sufficiently comprehensive in scope to en- 
able the Government gradually to buy suitable official resi- 
dences, or buy a site and build on it a suitable official 
residence, for its representatives in foreign countries. It 
can be done gradually and along safe and economic:;', 
lines. It may take ten or twenty years, but ultimately 
it will be accomplished, and then this great Republic will 
own in its own name, furnished and complete, with the 

130 



140 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



flag of our country forever floating above it — a harbor of 
refuge to all — a legation, or an embassy, in foreign coun- 
tries commensurate with its dignity and importance ; and 
then, and not till then, will brains and fitness instead of 
wealth and position be the qualifications for appointment 
in the American diplomatic service. 



IN HONOR OF ANDREW JACKSON. 



(Speech in Congress January 7, 1899.) 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: Andrew Jackson from his birth to his 
bier was a remarkable personage. He was a man of 
iron will and of indomitable spirit. His veins were filled 
with good red blood, and his nerves were of steel. He 
never knew fear. He never turned his back on friend or 
foe. He knew the right and never hesitated to do it. 
He hated cant, despised hypocrisy, and cared naught for 
consequences. 

He was a plain man. He loved the plain people ; they 
understood him and they loved him. 

He was a forceful man, a direct man, a positive man, 
an honest man, and a truthful man. He hated a liar, 
and he spurned with contempt a coward. 

His life began with the struggles of a brave people to 
cast off the tyrannous yoke of oppression, and when it 
went out his last look witnessed the greatest and the 
grandest Republic the world has ever seen. 

His life was a part of the Republic, and demonstrated 
its opportunities and its possibilities. 

Andrew Jackson was not born to the purple; he was 
no child of pampered fortune ; he knew woe and want, 
poverty and misery, trial and trouble. 

He was schooled in the school of adversity, but learned 
to surmount all difficulties. 

He was a soldier in three wars and a hero in each. 

His parents came from the north of Ireland. He was 
of Scotch-Irish origin, and had that blood in his veins 
with all that it means and all that it implies. 

He first saw the light of day in Carolina in March, 
1767. It was a new and sparsely settled country. Shortly 

141 



142 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



after his birth his father died, leaving a widow and three 
orphan children. Andrew Jackson was the youngest. 

His early days were days of hardship and privation, 
but they were trial days to school him and to fit him for 
the part he was to play in life. 

At that time the Revolution smoldered, and when it 
finally blazed forth in all its fury, the greatest and the 
grandest Revolution that ever shook the earth, all the 
Jacksons were in it and a part of it. 

Andrew Jackson, then a mere lad, was a soldier and 
a hero in those dark and stormy days. He was a war- 
rior for the right, a soldier for freedom. He was cap- 
tured, made a prisoner of war, and while such, because 
he refused to blacken the boots of an English officer, was 
struck a cruel blow on the head with a sword. He car- 
ried the terrible scar to his grave, but he avenged the 
insult at New Orleans. 

The Revolution passed and the Republic dawned. Dur- 
ing the heroic struggle Jackson's mother and his brothers 
died, all martyrs to the sacred cause. The close of the 
contest to vindicate the principle that governments de- 
rive their just powers from the consent of the governed 
found Andrew Jackson homeless, penniless, and friend- 
less, with neither kith nor kin, but nothing daunted. The 
ordeal of the Revolution made him a man, a patriot, and 
a Democrat. 

Andrew Jackson loved his mother with a passion al- 
most divine. His devotion to her memory is the noblest 
trait in his heroic character, and his undying fame her 
greatest monument. 

Napoleon asked : "What is wanting to save the youth 
of France ?" Madame Champau answered : "Mothers/ - 
No man was ever truly great whose mother was not 
really great. 

Andrew Jackson's mother intended him for the min- 
istry, but fate willed otherwise. He studied law, prac- 
ticed it successfully, was a judge and a good jurist, a 
member of both branches of Congress, molded the Con- 
stitution of Tennessee, was the greatest and most suc- 
cessful Indian fighter who ever lived, crushed at New 
Orleans the greatest invading force which ever dese- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 143 



crated our sacred soil, humbled in the dust the flower of 
the English army, and destroyed for all time the power 
and the prestige of Great Britain on the Western Hem- 
isphere. 

Andrew Jackson was the hero of the w r ar of 1812 and 
won its most decisive victory. He was a great citizen- 
soldier, but a greater civilian. He was a volunteer and 
believed in and stood for the volunteer forces of the 
Republic. He was opposed to a great standing army and 
had no sympathy with imperialism. 

He was a Democrat, reared in the Democratic school 
of Thomas Jefferson. He stood for the freedom of the 
press, freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, for 
civil and religious liberty, for the Constitution, for all 
that Jefferson stood for. He believed in our cardinal 
principle of special privileges to none, equal opportunities 
for all. 

He stood for advancement, for progress, for personal 
liberty, for the schoolhouse and the home. There was 
nothing illiberal, nothing narrow-minded, about Andrew 
Jackson. He was broad-gauged and broad-minded. He 
believed in the ability of the plain people to govern 
themselves. He stood for their rights, their hopes, their 
aspirations, and he vindicated them while he lived. 

He brought about the annexation of the Floridas and 
was their first American governor. He accomplished 
what he purposed ; he did things. 

He w r as twice President of the United States, stamped 
his personality indelibly on her history, and when he 
died he was the popular idol of the xAjmerican people. He 
will always be one of the most interesting figures in our 
history. 

He vindicated American institutions, crushed treason, 
pilloried nullification, and dethroned the United States 
Bank, the greatest private monopoly of his day. 

fie stood for the home and the hearthside, the sanctity 
of the family, and for the blessings of Christian civiliza- 
tion. 

He stood for internal improvements, for commerce, 
the American merchant marine, and he loved his country 
with an intensity that was patriotism personified. 



144 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



No one ever questioned the purity of his patriotism, or 
challenge the integrity of his motives, and yet no public 
man in all our history was ever more bitterly assailed by 
his enemies or more justly loved by his friends and ad- 
herents. 

Andrew Jackson had his faults and his foibles. He 
was not a demigod — he was only human. He hated and 
he loved in human ways like other human beings. He 
triumphed and he suffered. He was a man of force and 
of passron, the man for every crisis, and yet no man 
could be calmer under more trying circumstances — no 
man suffered more and complained less. His whole life 
was an heroic struggle mentally and physically. But 
amid all the storms of his tempest-tossed career his heart 
beat true,, and was ever warm ; his hand was always 
steady, his head was ever cool, and within his stern ex- 
terior there dwelt a Christian spirit and a noble nature 
as gentle as a woman's. He was a great Democratic 
leader, and no man ever had more loyal followers. 

He stood for the true democracy, the rule of the plain 
people, the democracy which unfetters trade, fosters 
commerce, establishes industry, aids enterprise, main- 
tains equal opportunity, unshackles the mind and the 
conscience, and defends liberty. 

He was a great man, the representative of two cen- 
turies. He was the embodiment of true American man- 
hood, the personification of the genius of our free in- 
stitutions, and the incarnation of Jeffersonian De- 
mocracy. 



AGAINST THE WHITE-SLAVE TRADE. 



Speech of Mr, Sulzer in Congress, January 12, 1910. 

Mr. BENNET of New York. Mr. Speaker, I yield 
two minutes to my colleague [Mr. Sulzer]. 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, all I want to say is that 
no man in this House or out of the House will go farther 
than I am willing* to go to secure the enactment of the 
most drastic legislation which can be placed upon the 
statute books of this country to suppress that crime 
which, for the want of a better name, is called the 
"white-slave traffic." 

I hope the municipalities of the country will take 
up the matter and suppress the evil. I trust that the 
States will take up the question and check the crime, 
and I believe that this Congress will be recreant to its 
duty to all the people if it fails to pass the most stringent 
law that can be devised by the human intellect to sup- 
press the traffic in human souls. 

I have no sympathy with the quibbling in regard to 
the constitutionality of some of the provisions of this 
bill. In this frightful matter I shall not allow techni- 
calities to cloud my sense of immediate duty. The 
courts must take the responsibility for its constitution- 
ality. I shall vote for this bill and do everything within 
my power to pass it here and now, so that it shall be 
placed at the earliest possible moment upon the statute 
books of our country. 



145 



SULZER'S ELOQUENT TRIBUTE TO 
DEMOCRACY. 



DELIVERED IN CONGRESS, MAY I(J, I9IO. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, the success of Democracy is assured. 
The Republican party has failed to redeem its promises ; 
it has disappointed the people ; it has been weighed in 
the balance and found wanting; its tenure of official 
life is short; on every issue of political importance be- 
fore the people to-day it is in the minority. 

The issues are now with Democracy. The political 
pendulum is swinging toward the party of Jefferson. 
The finger on the dial plate of political destiny points 
to the Sage of Monticello. As Hamiltonism wanes and 
passes in the shadow the heroic figure of the founder of 
our party looms larger and larger on the horizon. The 
Republicans have failed to make good. They promised 
much, but did little. They said they would revise the 
tariff taxes downward to lessen the burdens of toil and 
reduce the cost of the necessaries of life. They revised 
the tariff upward and increased the cost of living to a 
lamentable degree. They said the tariff must be re- 
formed by its "friends," and it was reformed with such 
a vengeance that the people want to annihilate these 
"friends." They said the ultimate consumer was a 
myth; but every election held since the Payne- Aldrich 
tariff act went into effect demonstrates that the ultimate 
consumer is a reality and tired of being humbugged. 

The Democratic party stands to-day where it always 
has stood and where it always will stand — for equal 
rights to all and special privileges to none; for law and 
order and good government ; for economy and retrench- 
ment and reform; for home rule and the right of local 

146 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



^47 



self-government; for equal and exact justice to all men 
— no class legislation, no caste, no cant, no pretense, no 
hypocrisy, no sumptuary and oppressive laws; for the 
home and the schoolhouse ; for free men ; for a free and 
untrammeled press ; for freedom of speech ; for civil and 
religious liberty; for the rights of man; for the sanctity 
of the ballot box ; for peace and harmony — the strength 
and support of all great institutions — between labor and 
capital ; for a fair day's pay for an honest day's work ; 
for a loyal acquiescence in the will of the majority; for 
a graduated income tax and an equitable system of tariff 
taxation, adequate to defray the necessary expenses of 
the Government honestly and economically administered, 
and so distributed that the rich as well as the poor shall 
pay their just share of the burden; for the election of 
Senators in Congress by the people ; for direct primaries ; 
for a general parcels post; for a department of labor 
with a secretary having a seat in the Cabinet; for a strict 
construction of the Constitution and the reserved rights 
of the States in opposition to greater centralization of 
government at Washington ; for necessary internal im- 
provements — good roads and better waterways; for the 
conservation of our natural resources ; for an adequate 
navy; for the upbuilding, along honest lines, of our 
merchant marine; for the destruction of the criminal 
trusts and the abolition of private monopoly ; for friend- 
ship with all nations, entangling alliances with none ; for 
the Monroe doctrine; for sympathy with the oppressed 
of every land and in every clime ; for the perpetuity of 
our free institutions and the fundamental principles of 
Democracy here and wherever our flag greets the morn- 
ing sun. 

These principles are now and always should be a part 
of the affirmative platform of the Democratic party. 
Men may come and men may go, but these principles 
are eternal and will go on forever. 

I have no fears for Democracy. The Democratic 
party will never die until the pillars of the Republic 
totter and crumble and liberty is no more. Its future 
is as secure as its past is glorious, and its ultimate suc- 
cess in the struggle for equal rights to all .ill be the 



148 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



crowning triumph of the progress of the race and the 
brightest page in the annals of human destiny. 

Democracy will live to voice the aspirations of liberty 
and to perpetuate the freedom of the fathers ; it will live 
to remedy every political evil ; to expose every economic 
heresy ; and to destroy every governmental abuse ; it will 
live to push onward the forces of reform and to lift hu- 
manity to a higher plane in the march of civilization ; it 
will live to champion the cause that lacks assistance and 
to stem the tide that needs resistance ; it will live to 
battle for the weak against the strong and for the right 
against the wrong; it will live to stop the predatory few 
from exploiting the protesting many, and doing it all 
under the cloak of law ; it will live to defend the Consti- 
tution and to commend the Declaration of Independence ; 
it will live to fight for the glory of the flag and to vin- 
dicate the rights of man; it will live to keep alive the 
memory of Jefferson and of Lincoln, the greatest apos- 
tles of freedom in all our marvelous history; it will live 
because it has a mission — a mission that can never die — 
the true mission of Democracy — to make mankind 
brothers and all the world free. 



NO INVASION OF MEXICO— SAYS SULZER, 



chairman of the committee on foreign affairs. 
By Colonel John Temple Graves, 
In the New York American, May n, 1912. 

Perhaps no man in Congress represents more ac- 
curately and honestly the thoughtful and conservative 
attitude of the Sixty-second Congress on this question 
than William Sulzer. Mr. Sulzer has won golden opin- 
ions by his handling of foreign affairs since he assumed 
the chairmanship of that committee. His views are re- 
spected, and his frankness to the press and to the public 
is to be commended. 

So much value is placed upon Mr. Sulzer's official 
views upon this Mexican question that I solicited them 
to-day for the New York American. In answer to a 
series of questions Mr. Sulzer made the following very 
interesting replies : 

"Has the capture of Juarez changed the Mexican 
situation ?" Mr. Sulzer was asked. 

"The capture of Juarez by the insurrectos has not 
changed, so far as I can see, the international status of 
the Mexican situation/' replied Mr. Sulzer. 

"If the Mexicans continue to live up to their treaty 
obligations with us, and afford ample protection to the 
lives of American citizens and security to American 
property, the Government of the United States should 
not interfere in the internal affairs of Mexico, but allow 
the Mexicans to settle their own troubles in their own 
way." 

"In your opinion, Mr. Sulzer, should belligerent rights 
be extended to the insurrectos ?" 



149 



150 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



IS XOT ADVISABLE NOW. 

"That is a very serious question," replied Air. Silken 
"Of course, if the government of the United States rec- 
ognized the belligerency of the insurrectos it would 
change considerably the present international status of 
affairs, especially so far as claims for damages, etc., are 
concerned. At present I hardly think it advisable for 
the Government of the United States to grant belligerent 
rights to the contending factions in Mexico." 

"Do you think,''' Mr. Sulzer was asked, "that ulti- 
mately the Government of the United States must inter- 
vene in [Mexico?" 

"As I have said frequently since this session of Con- 
gress began," replied Mr. Sulzer, "I think at present it 
would be a blunder worse than a crime for the Govern- 
ment of the United States to invade Mexico. 

"There are nearly 20,000 American citizens in Mexico 
and their lives would be in jeopardy just as soon as the 
troops of the United States crossed the Mexican fron- 
tier. This is a very serious aspect of the case and de- 
serves from all in authority in America the greatest con- 
sideration in reaching a conclusion. 

"Again, there is at least a billion dollars of American 
money invested in Mexico, and the invasion of the 
country by the United States would doubtless cause 
much of its immediate destruction. 

XO ATTACK OX OUR CITIZENS. 

"Thus far the Mexicans have not, as far as I can 
learn, destroyed American lives or American property in 
Mexico. There has been no concerted attack on our 
citizens in the country. Both sides in Mexico are doing 
their best to hold the good will and respect of the peo- 
ple of the United States. 

"I am in substantial accord with the Secretary of 
State, and I believe that this is a good time to keep cool 
regarding Mexican matters. It is better to be slow than 
to be sorry, and I am not in sympathy with those who 
favor rushing the army of the United States across the 
Mexican border. 



SULZER' S SHORT SPEECHES 151 

"The invasion of Mexico by the United States troops 
would be equivalent to a declaration of war, and it 
would be one of the most costly wars in our history, en- 
tailing loss of life and money beyond the comprehension 
of the finite mind. People who think the invasion of 
Mexico would be a picnic are not familiar with the 
facts, and know not what they say. I am reliably in- 
formed by experts that for us to hold Mexico would re- 
quire an army of from 300,000 to half a million soldiers, 
and that the cost to the Government of the United States 
would be hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars. 

"The loss of life would be terrible. The Mexicans, of 
course, would promptly get together as a matter of pure 
patriotism to repel the invaders, and we would be handi- 
capped and at a great disadvantage. Of course, the 
present situation in Mexico is deplorable, but it is not a 
cause for a declaration of war on the part of the United 
States. 

IS A FRIENDLY REPUBLIC. 

"Mexico is a friendly sister Republic. She should be 
treated as such by the Government of the United States. 
Our policy should be to live up to our treaty obligations, 
enforce the neutrality laws, and indulge the hope that 
the patriotic people of Mexico will soon be able to settle 
their own differences without the intervention of the 
United States or any other government on earth." 

"What in your opinion, Mr. Sulzer, would justify in- 
tervention ?" 

"Well," said Mr. Sulzer slowly, "intervention is un- 
thinkable at present, and would entail such tremendous 
loss of life and property, besides disastrous responsibili- 
ties on the part of the people of the United States, that 
I do not want to discuss the question. 

"The Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of 
Representatives is in daily touch with the White House. 
We have faith that President Taft will do all he can 
to prevent war, and we agree with the policy of the 
President to keep hands off Mexico. There will be no 
war w T ith Mexico if the President and the sensible mem- 
bers of Congress can prevent it. 



152 SULZER'S- SHORT SPEECHES 



"We realize what will happen whenever our troops 
cross the frontier, and no patriotic citizen of America can 
contemplate it without doing everything in his power to 
avert war between the United States and Mexico. 

AN INTERNATIONAL CRIME. 

"A war of conquest would be an international crime. 
We have no designs on Mexico's sovereignty. If Mexico 
ever becomes a part of the United States it must be by 
her own free will and not by force. When we invaded 
Mexico before we took away more than half her terri- 
tory on the continent and nobody can tell what will hap- 
pen if we ever invade Mexico again. 

"I am opposed to invasion for the sake of conquest* 
Such a policy, in my judgment, is contrary to the pa- 
triotic sentiments of nine-tenths of the people and gives 
the lie to our protestations for peace and for closer com- 
mercial relations with our sister republics on the West- 
ern Hemisphere. 

"What will Latin America think of the great Republic 
if it ruthlessly invades the territory of a friendly but 
distracted sister republic for the sake of conquest, and 
then forcibly takes away a part or all of her domain ? 

VIEW EXPANSION WITH SUSPICION. 

"Is it any wonder that the republics to our south view 
with grave suspicion the expansion policy of the United 
States since the war with Spain, and especially so since 
the establishment by force of the republic of Panama? 

"Our sphere of influence by virtue of the Monroe 
Doctrine is essentially on the Western Hemisphere. In 
order to make that influence beneficent and in true in- 
terest of civilization, we must have the respect, the 
friendship of our sister republics, and we certainly can- 
not do so if we take advantage of the slightest pretext 
to despoil their countries. We declare to the world that 
we favor arbitration with all the world, and yet, w T ith 
nothing to arbitrate, with no question in dispute, talk is 
rampant in the United States in favor of making war 
on Mexico/' 



ALL HONOR TO OUR SCHOOL-TEACHERS, 



Speech of Mr. Sulzer in Congress, January 9. 191 1, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : As a consistent friend of the teachers 
in the public schools of our country, I favor this bill to 
create a retirement fund for the teachers in the District 
of Columbia, and indulge the hope that the measure will 
pass to-day without more delay or further successful 
opposition. 

When we realize that the school-teachers in the public 
schools of the Capital City of the Nation are among its 
most intelligent, its hardest worked, and its poorest paid 
toilers in the Government employ, it seems to me the 
least we can do for them is to provide by law for their 
retirement on a reasonable pension when grown old in 
the service, or physically incapacitated by reason of its 
arduous and continuous labors. The unthinking do not 
always comprehend the qualifications essential for the 
successful school teacher ; the progressive work these 
teachers of the boys and girls must do; the infinite pa- 
tience they must possess ; and all that they accomplish 
in the shaping of character and the molding of mentality 
of the future men and women of America. Whatever 
benefits the teacher will benefit the children, and what- 
ever benefits the childrn will add untold greatness to the 
Republic. 

The school teachers deserve well of Congress. Theirs 
is the great profession, and take them all in all they do 
a work, often too little appreciated, but making for the 
glory of the country and the perpetuity of our free in- 
stitutions. 

A sense of gratitude compels me to say America owes 
much to the free schools, and infinitely more to the 

153 



154 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



poorly paid school teachers. These agencies have ac- 
complished more for our progress and our growth, more 
for patriotic America, more for all that we are and all 
that we hope to be, than all other agencies combined. I 
believe in popular education — in the free schools of our 
free country. 

Let us be grateful to the public school teachers. Let 
us pay them sufficient for all that they do, so that they 
can maintain themselves decently, dress neatly, as befits 
the instructors of the young, and keep in physical 
health, in order to endure the strain of the classroom 
and the hard work at home which the average teacher 
must do ; and then again, they must study, usually at 
their own expense, to continually improve themselves ; 
and they must travel, also at their own expense, to 
widen their horizon and fit themselves for better and 
higher work. More is expected of the school teacher in 
proportion to the pay given than from any other class 
in the public service. 

Here in the National Capital, with its boasted public 
school system, where we should have the most efficient, 
the happiest, and the most enthusiastic school workers in 
the world, the lot of the teachers is a sad one at the very 
best. They can hardly earn enough to make ends meet. 
In my judgment, these school teachers should receive 
more pay for the wonder work they do ; but at all events, 
the least we can do for them now is to provide some 
means, some comfort, some hope, for their old age, for 
the day when they become incapacitated, and not turn 
them out to a cold world when they have given the best 
years of their lives to the making of all that is best in a 
country — its men and its women. 



IN FAVOR OF PAN-AMERICAN TRADE. 



Speech in Congress, July 9, 1909. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I am in favor of better commercial re- 
lations with our progressive sister republics in Central 
and South America. 

Here is a great field — a splendid opportunity — it seems 
to me for our industrial expansion and for our commer- 
cial extension; and now is the time, in my opinion, for 
the representatives in Congress of the people of the 
United States to exercise a grain of good business fore- 
sight in the enactment of tariff legislation that will mean 
much commercially as the years come and go to our pro- 
ducers, to our merchants, to our manufacturers, and to 
all the people of our country. 

And yet, sir, I regret to say, as I have frequently said 
before, that not a line has thus far been written in the 
pending legislation, looking to the expansion of our 
trade and commerce with these friendly and neighborly 
countries. Not a thing has been done for its accomplish- 
ment, and I am frank to say it is a great political blunder 
and a greater commercial mistake. As I view the situa- 
tion we either attempt on the one hand to go too far 
afield seeking trade at great expense in far distant lands, 
or we display on the other hand a sad lack of knowledge 
of existing conditions at home by denying trade at our 
doors — that is as detrimental to our best interests as it is 
deplorable in our statesmanship. The people of Central 
and South America are our real friends, and they should 
be our best customers ; and they would be if we only had 
the sense and the wisdom to deal with them fairly and 
justly along lines mutually advantageous. 

Hence, sir, I repeat that I indulge a lingering hope 

155 



156 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



that ere the pending bill becomes a law a paragraph will 
be written in its provisions for closer commercial rela- 
tions with these progressive countries based on the 
equitable principles of truer reciprocal relations. As I 
have said before, I do not care how it is done ; I have no 
vanity in the matter ; I am wedded to no partisan policy ; 
but I want to see it accomplished at the earliest possible 
day for the benefit of our own people and in the interest 
of all the people in Central and South America. I know 
it can easily be done, and if it is not done now we are 
simply blind to our own industrial welfare and to our 
own commercial opportunities. 

Sir, the statistics conclusively show that the Central 
and South American trade at our very doors is growing 
more important and becoming more valuable every year. 
Why should we longer ignore it? European countries 
are doing their best to secure it, and the facts prove that 
they are getting the most of it at the present time, very 
much to our detriment and to our disadvantage. Why 
will our people always be blind to their own best inter- 
ests and to their own greatest opportunities? Why 
spend millions of dollars annually seeking trade in the 
Orient when the commerce of all America — richer than 
the Indies — is knocking at our door? Let us obliterate 
the obstacles in the way, tear down the barriers selfish 
interests have erected, and open wide the doors to wel- 
come this commerce ere it is too late and the golden op- 
portunity be lost forever. 

Now is the accepted time. These Central and South 
American countries are anxiously awaiting the outcome 
of our deliberations. They long for some evidence of 
our friendship and our sincerity. They want to trade 
with us. They will meet us more than halfway. They 
will study every line of this tariff bill when it becomes 
a law to see if it welcomes or abandons their hopes. 
Shall we disappoint their most sanguine expectations? 
Shall we ignore this most valuable trade, these great 
commercial opportunities, and give these splendid mar- 
kets wholly and entirely to Germany and to England? 
I trust not; and so I say again I hope ere we adjourn 
and the pending tariff bill becomes a law, there will be 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 157 



written in it a just and fair provision for freer com- 
merce between the United States and all our sister re- 
publics in Central and South America. 

Mr. Speaker, the people of these Central and South 
American countries are the true friends of the United 
States; they look to us for protection and sisterly sym- 
pathy; they need our help in their industrial progress; 
they desire our aid in the marketing of their products; 
they want our financial assistance in the development of 
their great natural resources; and their resources and 
their products are greater and richer than those of coun- 
tries far away across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 
We should aid them in their struggle for better condi- 
tions ; we should extend to them a helping hand in their 
onward march of progress; we should glory in their 
prosperity. Their success is our success. They are 
rapidly forging to the front ; their exports and imports 
are increasing annually; their trade is becoming more 
and more important; their commerce more and more 
valuable; and instead of closing our doors by an unjust 
tariff against these countries and their products, in my 
opinion we should open them wider and do everything 
in our power to welcome closer commercial relations. 

We want their products and they want our products, 
and all trade barriers erected to prevent a fairer ex- 
change of goods, wares and merchandise between us 
and these countries should, in so far as possible, be 
eliminated. It will be for the best interest of the people 
of our own country, to the lasting benefit of the people 
of these Central and South American countries, and for 
the mutual advantage of each and all — binding us to- 
gether in closer ties of friendship and making for the 
peace and the prosperity and the industrial progress of 
the times. 



MR. SULZER ON THE TARIFF. 



From Speech in Congress, May 28, 1898. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I stand for a fair, a just and an equita- 
ble revenue system, a tariff for revenue that will support 
the Government, economically administered, with equal 
justice to all and favoritism to none, having a jealous 
care for our farmers and our toilers. I do not believe in 
taxing the necessaries of life, and exempting from taxa- 
tion the luxuries. On the contrary, those articles the 
least needed by all the people should pay the highest tax, 
and those most needed by all the people should pay the 
least tax. 



158 



MR. SULZER'S LETTER TO BISHOP ALEXAN- 
DER WALTERS FOR EQUAL RIGHTS TO 
ALL. 

Washington, D. C, February 25, 191 1. 

To Bishop Alexander Walters, 

President of the National Negro Political League, 
New York City. 

My dear Bishop : 

On account of official duties it will be impossible for 
me to be present and address your meeting. How- 
ever, I cannot forego this opportunity to congratu- 
late you and your associates on the splendid work you 
are doing for the fundamental principles of Democracy, 
and the success you are making along the lines of prac- 
tical organization with a view of convincing the men 
of your race that they have just as many friends among 
the Democrats as they have among the Republicans. 

Equal rights to all and special privileges to none is 
the fundamental principle of Democracy, and the appli- 
cation of this principle to questions as they arise will 
solve them in the interest of the plain people of our 
country. It seems to me it should be the constant effort 
of the men of your race, in season and out of season, 
to keep this great principle to the front, so that all 
the people, without regard to race, religion or previous 
condition, shall be equal before the law, and the door of 
opportunity, under the star of hope of free America, ever 
remain open. The sentiment in favor of this idea is 
growing apace throughout the land, and means much 
for the future welfare of our country. 

Democracy is not on the wane. It is stronger to-day 
than it ever was, and Democracy has no prejudice against 

159 



i6o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



any race, but wants to help all sorts and conditions of 
people to rise step by step to higher levels in the onward 
march of civilization. 

Let me say in conclusion that I congratulate you on 
the interest you are taking in Democratic principles, and 
I know of the great influence you have with the people 
of your race. You deserve well, and your work should 
be commended by every patriotic American. In the fu- 
ture, as in the past, anything I can do to help you and 
your friends you can rest assured will always be cheer- 
fully done. 

With best wishes, believe me, as ever, 

Very sincerely your friend, 

William Sulzer. 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH FOR CUBA'S 
INDEPENDENCE. 

In Congress, March 2, 1896, in favor of his resolution 
for Cuban Independence. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, what a sad story the history of Cuba 
tells ! 

For three hundred years Spain has ruled Cuba with an 
iron hand. It has been the rule of a military despotism 
over a conquered province. Its true history never has 
been written, and probably never will be. It has been 
one long, unending carnival of crime, of rapine, of pub- 
lic plunder, and of official robbery ; a dark blot on civili- 
zation, a disgrace to Christendom, an imperial challenge 
to the sober sense of humanity. How much longer will 
it last? How much longer will this Government suffer it 
to last? Captain-general after captain-general has come 
and gone, leaving a trail of blood, of pillage, of plunder, 
and of crime in all its forms; but Cuban patriotism has 
lived on and hoped on, and has become, as the years 
rolled by, more intensified, more united, until at last the 
bright dawn of her independence day is at hand, and 
with our help the Ever-Faithful Isle, richest for its size 
of any on earth, will soon be free and independent from 
Spanish misrule and Spanish misgovernment. 

Mr. Speaker, these brave, heroic Cuban patriots are 
fighting a battle of republicanism against monarchy; of 
democracy against plutocracy; home rule against the 
bayonet; the sovereignty of the individual against the 
sanctity of the king ; the ballot against the throne ; 
American liberty against foreign tyranny, and above all 
and beyond all they are fighting a battle for the rights 

161 



162 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



of man. They must and will succeed if they can main- 
tain their present status for a few months more. 

Spain denies that war exists in Cuba, yet she has sent 
an hundred thousand men there to put it down. Her 
greatest general took personal command, was recalled, 
and admits he cannot succeed. Spain never did and 
never will admit the truth about Cuba. She will not 
permit the world to know what is going on in the 
island, and the probability is that she is not carrying on 
a civilized mode of warfare. There seems to be very 
little difference between Captain-General Valmaceda and 
Captain-General Weyler, his former lieutenant, and the 
message of President Grant, through his Secretary of 
State, in 1869, crying out in the interest of civilization 
and common humanity against the mode of warfare in 
Cuba by the Spanish Government is no doubt as true to- 
day as it was then. 

Mr. Speaker, Spain cannot win. She cannot subju- 
gate Cuba, Her greatest generals meet with defeat in 
every important engagement, and her resources are 
drained to a condition of national bankruptcy. She can- 
not carry on the war much longer and must soon admit 
her inability to quell the revolution. From what I can 
ascertain and from what I can learn from the best and 
most authoritative sources, I know the Cubans will ac- 
cept no terms but the freedom of the island — no more 
faithless promises of reform; nothing but absolute in- 
dependence. 

Cuba is the queen of the Antilles. She has justly 
been called the fair and fruitful isle, the Eden of all her 
sisters of the sea, the glorious gem of the ocean, whose 
very name fills the mind with the most enchanting pic- 
tures of tropical beauty, the most delicious dreams of 
natural wealth, of luxury, and of splendor, an eternal 
summer garden, intoxicating with the incense of per- 
petual flowers and brilliant with the plumage and the 
music of innumerable birds, beneath whose sunlit glow- 
ing sky the teeming earth yields easy and abundant har- 
vest to the toil of man, inviting the traffic and the com- 
merce of the world. 

Mr. Speaker, on the 17th day of last December I of- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 163 



fered the following resolution, which was referred to 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs : 

"Joint resolution declaring that a state of public war 
exists in Cuba and that belligerent rights be ac- 
corded to the Cuban Government. 
"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
That the Government of the United States recognizes a 
condition of public war between the Government of 
Spain and the Government proclaimed and for some time 
maintained by force of arms by the people of Cuba ; and 
the United States of America hereby declare that they 
will maintain a condition of strict neutrality between the 
contending powers and accord to each all the rights of 
belligerents in the ports and territory of the United 
States. The Congress of the United States protest and 
remonstrate against the barbarous manner in which the 
w r ar in Cuba has been conducted, and the President is 
hereby authorized to take such steps as may be expe- 
dient, in his judgment, to secure an observance of the 
laws of war as recognized by all civilized nations. 

That is a joint resolution and speaks for itself. It is 
couched in the proper form, and is all the Cuban patriots 
ask for or want. I introduced it at their request. It is 
moderate and conservative, but it accomplishes the ob- 
ject desired, hoped for, and prayed for. I indulge the 
hope that it will soon pass Congress. 

In the present crisis in Cuba my sympathies are all 
with the heroic and patriotic Cubans, and I sincerely 
hope and believe they will succeed. Cuba must and will 
be free and independent, and, in my judgment, the end 
is near, the result inevitable, and the Cuban Republic 
will soon take its stand among the nations of the world. 

In their battle for freedom and for independence every 
lover of liberty, every believer in free institutions, and 
every friend of the people who believes that govern- 
ments derive their just powers from the consent of the 
governed should sympathize with the struggling Cubans 
and do all that they can to help them to bring about the 
realization of their hopes and aspirations. 



OLD IRONSIDES. 



DON'T GIVE UP THE SHIP ! 

Mr. Sulzer's Speech in Congress That Prevented the 
Destruction of the U. S. Frigate Constitution, De- 
cember 19, 1905. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, a few days ago I introduced the follow- 
ing- resolution, which I now send to the Clerk's desk 
and ask to have read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

"Whereas, It has been published in the newspaper 
press of the country that the Secretary of the Navy has 
recommended the breaking up and destruction of one of 
the most famous historical relics of the United States, 
namely, the frigate Constitution, popularly known as 
'Old Ironsides' ; and 

"Whereas, The patriotic people of the country regard 
such destruction of 'Old Ironsides' with sorrow and re- 
gret, and as an irreparable loss, because 'Old Ironsides' 
can never be replaced if destroyed ; and they believe that 
if only one of her planks remains it should be sacredly 
saved and preserved as an historic relic ; Therefore, be it 

"Resolved, That the Secretary of the Navy be, and he 
is hereby, requested, if not incompatible with the public 
interests, to send to the House of Representatives as 
soon as possible all information upon the subject of the 
destruction of the frigate Constitution, popularly known 
as 'Old Ironsides,' and in the meantime to await such 
further action as the Congress may deem proper to take 
to prevent such destruction ; and be it further 

"Resolved, That the President of the United States is 

164 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



165 



hereby requested to promptly intervene and recommend 
such measures as shall secure the permanent preserva- 
tion of all that now remains of the frigate Constitution 
as one of the historical relics remaining to the people of 
the United States." 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Chairman, that is a patriotic 
resolution and it speaks for itself. I am in favor of it, 
and I believe it should pass this House without delay. 
It was introduced by me for the purpose of finding out, 
through the Secretary of the Navy, as soon as possible, 
just when, and how, and where, and why the Secretary 
of the Navy proposed or contemplated the destruction 
of the frigate Constitution, popularly known to the 
American people as "Old Ironsides," and what authority, 
if any, he has in the premises to destroy this historical 
relic of the American Navy. 

The patriotic people of the country were very much 
surprised a short time ago when they read that the 
Secretary of the Navy proposed to destroy "Old Iron- 
sides," the flagship of Hull and Preble, of Bainbridge, 
and of gallant Charles Stewart, the grandfather of 
Charles Stewart Parnell. The Secretary said, if the 
reports in the newspapers are correct, and I doubt not 
they are, that this old frigate, the Constitution, now 
lying at Charlestown Navy Yard, in Boston Harbor, was 
of no earthly use, and the best thing that could be done 
w r ith her was to tow her out to sea and make her a target 
for American naval gunners to shoot to pieces. 

Think of it ! Imagine, if you can, this official vandal- 
ism ! It shocked public sentiment. It aroused American 
patriotism. I can hardly believe it to be true, but if it is 
true I trust the Secretary of the Navy has heard the in- 
dignant remonstrance and the patriotic protest which has 
rolled into Washington from every part of the country, 
and that he will do nothing further in the matter. His 
action has aroused the spirit of protest of the nation. 
The American people will never consent to the wanton 
destruction of the frigate Constitution; and, in fact, sir, 
I doubt if the Secretary of the Navy has any authority to 
order her demolition. She belongs to the people of the 



166 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



United States, and they will never consent to destroy 
her ; and the Secretary has no more right to destroy her 
than he has to order the destruction of this Capitol. I 
think that the Congress has something to say about what 
shall be done or not done with the people's property, and 
I hope the Secretary will refrain from further action in 
the premises until this Congress can act in the matter. 

The fate of Old Ironsides is in our hands. She cannot 
be shot and sunk without our consent. We must stop this 
sacrilege. The venerable old frigate Constitution should 
not be destroyed. She is sacred to the American people, 
and as long as one of her timbers remains she should 
never be demolished. She was launched in the harbor of 
Boston in 1797. Her story on the sea is American his- 
tory, and time cannot dim her greatness nor sully her 
glory. She belongs to Boston, and there let her rest in 
peace with the Stars and Stripes floating from her mast- 
head until she shall crumble and rot away and be no 
more. 

Once before, Mr. Speaker — a long time ago, away 
back in 1830 — a former Secretary of the Navy pro- 
posed the destruction of "Old Ironsides/' Is the pres- 
ent Secretary of the Navy familiar with that incident? 
Does he remember what then happened? Has he for- 
gotten the storm of protests, the white heat of popular 
indignation, that aroused the people and stirred the very 
depths of American patriotism? The people then saved 
the Constitution and the storm of outraged popular sen- 
timent subsided; but at its height there came a flash of 
poetic lightning, the inspiration of Oliver Wendell 
Holmes, who wrote this poem on "Old Ironsides" : 

"Ay, tear her tattered ensign down! 

Long has it waved on high, 
And many an eye has danced to see 

That banner in the sky. 
Beneath it rung the battle shout 

And burst the cannon's roar — 
The meteor of the ocean air 

Shall sweep the clouds no more. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 167 



"Her deck, once red with heroes' blood, 

Where knelt the vanquished foe, 
When winds were hurrying o'er the flood 

And waves were white below, 
No more shall feel the victor's tread 

Or know the conquered knee — 
The harpies of the shore shall pluck 

The eagle of the sea! 

"Oh, better that her shattered hulk 

Should sink beneath the wave ; 
Her thunders shook the mighty deep, 

And there should be her grave; 
Nail to the mast her holy flag, 

Set every threadbare sail, 
And give her to the god of storms, 

The lightning and the gale I" 

That gem, sir, from the pen of dear old Doctor Holmes 
did much in the long ago to preserve "Old Ironsides." 
As I sat here to-day thinking about the action of our 
present Secretary my memory went back to that other 
time. It seemed like history repeating itself, and I won- 
dered if our Naval Secretary — poor benighted man — had 
ever read that patriotic poem by one of America's most 
gifted authors. But no matter ; suffice it now for me to 
say that from that day down to the present no sacrilegi- 
ous hand has ever been raised to strike a blow against 
"Old Ironsides." 

Mr. Speaker, this may be a practical age, but Ameri- 
can sentiment is not dead, and it is well that there is 
enough left to arouse the people in protest against de- 
stroying in a most unpatriotic way the gallant old ship 
Constitution. If only a sentimental value is left of all 
her greatness, it is enough to save her, and it is a very 
beautiful sentiment, and one altogether creditable to the 
hearts of the American people. This sentiment fights 
our battles, wins our victories, and preserves our liber- 
ties. Sentiment — -deep-rooted, patriotic sentiment — is 
the very life of every progressive people, and I trust the 



168 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



day will never come in our land when it will slumber so 
soundly that an act of vandalism cannot arouse it to 
protest and to action. The doom of the Republic will 
be knelled when American sentiment dies. 

So, sir, I say that for sentimental and patriotic rea- 
sons the frigate Constitution must not be destroyed. Xo 
act of vandalism must ever profane "Old Ironsides." 
Her glorious ensign must never be hauled down. She 
is the most valuable relic historically, and the most price- 
less possession to-day, in the American Navy. Xo won- 
der the patriotic people of New England, and elsewhere, 
were grieved and shocked when they learned that the 
Secretary of the Navy, in the most matter-of-fact way, 
intended to have this historic old ship of war towed out 
to sea and shot at for a target — shot to death with 
American gunpowder and by the Navy she made possi- 
ble and did so much to embellish. But it shall never 
happen — perish the thought — because I believe I voice 
the patriotic feelings of all true Americans everywhere 
when I say we shall never give up the ship — we shall 
never destroy "Old Ironsides.'' 

Mr. Speaker, just a few words more, and I am done. 
I want to say, in conclusion, that I am a friend of the 
American Navy. I glory in its brilliant and illustrious 
achievements. In every war and on every sea its valor 
and its heroism have illumined the pages of American 
history. There is no blot on its heraldic shield. The 
patriotic soul of every school boy in America has been 
fired by the valor, the bravery, and the glory of our 
naval heroes. Their motto is, and was, and ever will be, 
"Don't give up the ship !" and we, the Representatives 
of the American people in Congress, re-echoing that 
heroic and patriotic sentiment, send greetings to our con- 
stituencies, and notice to the Secretary of the Navy, 
that we won't give up the ship ; that we won't sacrifice 
"Old Ironsides" ; that we won't destroy the Constitution 
— the oldest and the grandest and the proudest ship that 
ever nailed her colors to the mast in all the glorious an- 
nals of the American Navy. 



FOR THE CHARLESTON EXPOSITION. 
Speech in Congress, March 2, 1901. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I am on record in favor of expositions. 
I voted for the Omaha Exposition, for the Pan-American 
Exposition, for the St. Louis Exposition, and I shall 
vote in favor of the Charleston Exposition. I like the 
people of the South; I believe in them, in their future, 
and I want to help them demonstrate to the world in an 
educational way their greatness, their commerce, their 
industries, their progress, and their material resources. 

In my judgment, this exposition is most desirable and 
will do incalculable good. It will astonish many, and 
rivet the attention of America on the New South, with 
its innumerable opportunities, its untold wealth, and its 
myriad possibilities. Give the New South a chance, and 
the result will be as surprising as the vast amount of 
invaluable information disseminated will be beneficial. 

This, sir, is not a local or a sectional matter. It will 
help and benefit our whole country. I dissent from the 
provincial and narrow view taken by some gentlemen on 
this question. The Columbian Exposition at Chicago 
did more for this country in different ways than the most 
eloquent tongue can ever portray. 

Every exposition ever held in this country has been a 
great national blessing that has made for peace, for 
progress, and for civilization. We spend yearly millions 
and millions of dollars for useless objects and worthless 
matters, but when a few thousand dollars are asked for 
educational purposes, for the benefit of humanity, for the 
diffusion of information, some cheeseparing statesman 
gravely arises and and in sepulchral tones objects. 

169 



SPEECH TO REPEAL THE WAR TAXES. 



In Congress, December 15, 1900. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, the war act of 1898. which imposed 
more taxation, was an emergency measure. It was 
passed hurriedly and without much consideration to 
raise immediate money for the purpose of successfully 
prosecuting the Spanish-American war. It was a war 
measure, and it was so described at that time by the 
leaders of the Republican party in this House, who gave 
assurances to the country that just so soon as the war 
w r as over these war taxes would be repealed. 

The war has been over for more than two years and 
the Republican party is just now partially reducing the 
war taxes. I am opposed to a continuance of these war 
taxes in time of peace. They are obnoxious and vexa- 
tious, and should be repealed. In my judgment they 
could be repealed without causing a deficit. But if gen- 
tlemen on the other side believe otherwise and claim 
more revenue is necessary, not for an economical ad- 
ministration of public affairs, but for the purpose of 
carrying out political schemes — some of which you now 
have under advisement — then, I say, that instead of rais- 
ing the revenue from the poor, from the producers and 
the consumers of the country, you should raise this ad- 
ditional revenue by a tax on idle wealth. That would 
be more equitable, and more consistent. We must tax 
idle wealth — not overburdened work. 

I am opposed to robbing the many for the benefit of 
the few. I am opposed to unjust and unnecessary taxa- 
tion. The war tax law is the worst kind of special legis- 
lation, and the bill now under consideration is a species 
of this special legislation carried to its logical sequence. 

170 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 171 

It cannot be justified now; it could only be tolerated in 
time of war ; and I am of the opinion that the people of 
the country will be sadly disappointed by the action of 
this House. They expected you to keep your promise 
and repeal these burdensome war taxes. 

Mr. Speaker, all legislation bestowing special privileges 
on the few 7 is unjust and against the masses. It has 
gone on until less than 8 per cent, of the people own 
more than two-thirds of all the wealth of our country. 
It has been truly said that monarchies are destroyed by 
poverty and republics by wealth. If the greatest Re- 
public the world has ever seen is destroyed, it will fall 
by reason of this vicious system of robbing the many for 
the benefit of the few. 

The total population of the United States is about 75,- 
000,000. The total aggregate wealth of the United 
States, according to the best statistics that can be pro- 
cured, is estimated at about $75,000,000,000; and it ap- 
pears, and no doubt much to the surprise of many, that 
out of a total population of 75,000,000 less than 25,000 
persons in the United States own more than one-half 
of the entire aggregate wealth of the land. And this 
has all been brought about during the last twenty-five 
years by special legislation. 

The centralization of wealth in the hands of the few 
by the robbery of the many during the past quarter of a 
century has been simply enormous, and the facts and 
figures are appalling. Three-quarters of the entire wealth 
of our land appears to be concentrated in the hands of a 
very small minority of the people, and the number of 
persons constituting that minority grows smaller and 
smaller every year. 

I am in favor of repealing the war taxes and making 
the idle wealth of the land pay its just share of the bur- 
dens of government. This can easily be done by a grad- 
uated corporation tax that will reach the dividends of 
the great industrial interstate commerce corporations, 
and by a graduated income tax that will reach the ac- 
cumulated wealth of the land. 

I am in favor of making the idle w r ealth of the coun- 
try do by law what the producers and the consumers do, 



172 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



and that is pay their just share of the expenses of the 
Government. 

By a graduated corporation tax and a graduated in- 
come tax we would lift in great part the tax burdens 
from the farmers, the workingmen, and the consumers 
and place them where they justly belong. 

In my judgment an equitable system of a graduated 
income tax and a graduated corporation tax is the fair- 
est, the most honest, and the most popular system of 
taxation that can be devised ; and I believe if it were put 
into operation that it would pay more than one-half the 
annual expenses of the Government. 



THANKS TO MRS. RUSSELL SAGE, 



Speech in Congress, February 20, 1909, 
Mr. Suizer said : 

Mr. Speaker, before the motion is put I want to say 
just a word. It is well known that recently the Con- 
gress passed a bill, which is now a law, to accept the 
substantial gift of Mrs. Russell Sage of Constitution 
Island, in the Hudson River, and that the same be 
made a part of the military reservation at West Point. 
At that time I thought that, on account of the great 
value of that donation, the least the Congress could do 
would be to record a vote of thanks to Mrs. Sage. 
For some reason this was not done. I for one think 
that omission was a mistake. Mrs. Sage is to-day doing 
a noble work in the world. She is an example of what 
a rich woman with noble impulses can accomplish for 
good. She is doing a most commendable and beneficent 
work along charitable and humanitarian lines. She is 
entitled not only to the thanks of the Congress for the 
gift to the Government of Constitution Island, but, in 
my opinion, she is entitled to the praise of every true 
American for the great and the glorious work she is do- 
ing for humanity. God bless Mrs. Sage ! God spare 
her life to do good for many, many years to come ! 



i/3 



ON THE ANNEXATION OF HAWAII. 



Speech in Congress, June 14, 1898. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, the question of the annexation of the 
Hawaiian Islands is not a new one. For more than 
half a century it has been considered by our ablest think- 
ers and advocated by the leading statesmen in our coun- 
try. Years and years ago it was seen that sooner 
or later the islands would come to us and would be 
ours. All our history teaches this. A few years ago, 
when the monarchy died and the Republic of Hawaii 
reared its head among the nations of the world, all far- 
seeing men knew it was only a question of a little while 
when she would come to us and ask us to make her a 
part of our domain. The time is at hand and we in- 
tend to grant her request. We know, and the people 
out there know, that a little state like Hawaii cannot 
stand alone among her great competitors, all of whom 
covet her incomparable harbor, her rich and fertile lands, 
her salubrious climate, her commercial position and re- 
sources, and her invaluable natural strategical advan- 
tages. She must have the protection of this country or 
some other great power. So she comes to us in her help- 
lessness and we gladly bid her welcome. 

Another thing, sir, I desire to say at this time, and 
that is that this question is not a party question. It 
never was a party question, and it never ought to be 
made a party question. There should be no politics in 
this matter. It is a question of American statesmanship 
and American patriotism ; nothing more, nothing less. If 
it can be made a party question at all, it is a Democratic 
one. The first man in this country to favor Hawaiian 
annexation, years and years ago, was that great Demo- 



174 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



175 



crat from the State of New York, William L. Marcy, 
the greatest Secretary of State this country has ever had 
since the days of Thomas Jefferson. He saw the ad- 
vantages of our acquiring these islands away back in 
the early days of the Republic. And since his day every 
Democratic Administration save one has done all it could 
to bring these islands under the sovereignty of this 
country. 

But, sir, even if the annexation of these islands re- 
quired a larger Navy, I would still cast my vote for an- 
nexation. I believe in the Navy. Ever since I have 
been in Congress I have advocated and voted for all 
measures in the interest of the Navy. In my opinion, 
we want, and must have, a navy that will be large enough 
to protect our shores at home and our citizens and our 
interests in every foreign land. Who is there here 
to-day who will belittle our Navy ? We are proud of it, 
proud of its past, and we have every reason to believe we 
will be proud of its future. We need a strong navy. 
We ought to have as good a navy as any nation in the 
world. We must build up our merchant marine. We 
must carry American goods in American ships and un- 
der the American flag. There was a day when the sails 
of our ships were seen on every ocean and our flag in 
every harbor of the world. That day will come again,, 
and the policy we contemplate to-day will hasten it. 

There is another reason why I favor the annexation 
of the Hawaiian Islands. The day, in my judgment, is 
not far distant when this Government must build the 
Nicaragua Canal. That will shorten the distance to the 
Pacific possessions more than one-third. The trip of 
the Oregon has demonstrated that the canal across the 
Isthmus must be built as quickly as possible. It should 
have been built long ago. We must build it with our 
own money, we must own it ourselves, and we must 
hold it and manage it ourselves. 

I will always do all in my power to foster, to build 
up, to develop, and to extend our commercial industries. 
To do otherwise would be short-sighted and unpatriotic. 
The commerce of a nation makes it rich and great. Asia 
and Africa and the East Indies are being opened up and 



176 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



developed to-day, and we must look to the Orient to 
get our share of its trade and commerce. We know to- 
day that we cannot successfully compete with England, 
Prance and Germany in the manufacture of many goods 
that are sold in Europe. 

They have the markets there, and they hold the mar- 
kets there. They are great manufacturing countries, and 
they can manufacture materials just as cheap if not 
cheaper than we can. They pay, as a general thing, less 
wages than we do, and their workmen and artisans labor 
more hours a day. We, too, are a great manufacturing 
country. We must find a market for our surplus goods. 
AVhat w r e cannot sell in Europe we must find a market 
for in Central and South America, in Asia and Africa, 
in the East Indies and the South Seas. There is no 
doubt our merchants are aware of it and alive to its 
great advantages and rich opportunities. On account of 
time, distance, and the cheapness of transportation, the 
advantages are all with us for profitable trade and com- 
merce in the Pacific 

Let me say to the business men of America, Look to 
the land of the setting sun, look to the Pacific! There 
are teeming millions there who will ere long want to be 
fed and clothed the same as we are. There is the great 
market that the continental powers are to-day strug- 
gling for. We must not be distanced in the race for the 
commerce of the world. In my judgment, during the 
next hundred years the great volume of trade and com- 
merce, so far as this country is concerned, will not be 
eastward, but will be westward ; will not be across the 
Atlantic, but will be across the broad Pacific. The Ha- 
waiian Islands will be the key that will unlock to us the 
commerce of the Orient, and in a commercial sense 
make us rich and prosperous. 

To-day we are confronted with this situation: The 
people of the Hawaiian Islands, through their duly 
elected officers, petition us for annexation. They have 
a little Republic away out there on the Pacific, and they 
"believe they should become, and they want to become, a 
part of the ^reat Republic of the United States. They 
ask us to take them under the protection of the Stars 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 177 

and Stripes. Shall we accept the magnificent gift they 
offer or shall we refuse it? Looking at this question 
from every standpoint, I say for one we should accept. 
Why should we hesitate? Why should we not welcome 
«-hem to the protection of the great Republic ? 



THE FINAL APPROPRIATION TO RAISE THE 

MAINE. 



Speech in Congress of Mr. Sulzer, December 16, 191 1. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I favor this additional appropriation 
to complete the work of raising the wreck of the Maine, 
I hope it will be the last money required for the purpose. 
It has cost the taxpayers of the country considerable 
to do what they desired to be done in this matter, but I 
know they do not begrudge what it has cost. 

I am the author of the legislation in Congress to raise 
the wreck of the Maine, and its accomplishment now 
demonstrates beyond peradventure what I asserted many 
times in the past on this floor, that the battleship Maine 
was destroyed in the harbor of Habana on that memor- 
able night in February, 1898, by an external explosion. 
The unanimous report of the board of inquiry, now be- 
fore Congress, is conclusive in the matter. The truth of 
the matter is worth all that it has cost. History can 
now be written. 

The wreck of the Maine will soon be removed from 
the harbor of Havana, where it is a menace to naviga- 
tion. We owe it to ourselves and to the maritime na- 
tions of the earth that this be done. We could not per- 
mit any other nation to do this work. It was incumbent 
upon us to do it, and its satisfactory completion is worth 
all that it has cost. 

But, sir, more than all this, let me say, there were 
more than 63 bodies of our heroic sailors entombed in 
the hulk of that wreck which had never been recovered. 
As the work progressed I understand that 65 remains 
have been found and brought back to this country to be 
buried with their gallant comrades in the national ceme- 

178 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 179 



tery at Arlington. To recover these bodies was a duty 
this Government owed to the memory of its gallant de- 
fenders and to the sentiment of patriotism alive in the 
land, which, I trust, will never die in America. 

All the money it has cost to raise the Maine has been 
well spent and no one in this country, in my judgment, 
regrets it. Our Government has now done its full duty 
to the maritime nations of the world, to the memory of 
our heroic sailors who sacrificed their lives on the altar 
of their country, and, last, but not least, to the eternal 
truth of history. The last act in the tragedy of the 
Spanish-American War is ended. 



IN FAVOR OF THE AMERICAN NAVY. 



Speech of Mr. Sulzer in Congress, February 20, 1905. 
Mr. Sulzer said ; 

Mr. Speaker, I am now, always have been, and always 
expect to be a friend of the American Navy. It is the 
strongest arm of our national defense in time of war, 
and the best guaranty of our lasting peace. It is na- 
tional insurance, and every dollar spent for the Navy is 
economy in the long run. 

As a friend of the American Navy, voicing, as I be- 
lieve, the deliberate judgment of my constituents, I am 
in favor of the provision in this bill for the construction 
of tw r o new battle ships. I do not believe there is an 
intelligent man in the country who has looked into this 
matter and has studied the true situation that is opposed 
to the appropriation for these two new battle ships. I do 
not understand how a Representative from New York 
City, or from any other great city on our Atlantic, Gulf 
or Pacific coasts can vote against these two battle ships 
or can oppose the judicious increase of the American 
Navy. We know how the people of New York and 
other seaport towns felt at the beginning of the Spanish- 
American war. 

There are no politics in the Navy or in continuing its 
efficiency. It is a non-partisan question, and every true 
American, no matter what his opinion may be regard- 
ing the Army, is in favor of increasing our Navy until 
we have one of the strongest and one of the best navies 
in the world. To strike out of this bill one of these 
battle ships would be naval retrogression. It would be 
a step backwards in our naval policy. The American 
Navy is growing. I want to see it continue to grow un- 
til we have a navy second to none in the world. It will 

180 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES i3i 

be money well spent in the end, and it will be economy 
in the right direction. The American people, in my 
judgment, do not want to stop the growth of their 
Navy. I believe the Members of this House by adher- 
ing to the provisions in this bill for two new battle 
ships will only meet the just expectations of their con- 
stituents. 

The American people take a just pride in the Navy. 
They have every reason to be proud of it, to be proud 
of its past, to be proud of it now, and to be hopeful of 
its future. The Navy is one of America's greatest insti- 
tutions — a bulwark of defense, a mighty engine of of- 
fense — and should be liberally supported by the Con- 
gress of the United States by generous appropriations. 
Every dollar spent on the Navy is just so much money 
expended for insurance. A better investment could not 
be made. 

The most unthinking individual in the country realizes 
how important it is for the Government to have a strong, 
a great and a mighty navy. We have a larger and more 
vulnerable seaboard than any other country in the world. 
We will scon, I believe, have a great merchant marine. 
We have great cities of immense wealth, of costly build- 
ings, of commerce, and of property, the value of which is 
incalculable, all along our seacoasts. They must and 
should be all protected, and they can not be better pro- 
tected, better safeguarded than by a modern and an ef- 
ficient navy. 

I shall vote for these two additional battle ships. I 
have never voted to cripple the Navy and I never shall. 
I am in favor of increasing the power, the strength, the 
tonnage, and the efficiency of the American Navy. I 
know how nervous the merchants in New York felt when 
a Spanish war vessel crossed the Atlantic and anchored 
in New York Bay just before war was declared against 
Spain. The people of my city are now, ever have been, 
and, in my judgment, ever will be, in favor of doing 
everything in their power to keep up the efficiency and 
continue the gradual increase of the Navy. The Ameri- 
can Navy is growing. We must do nothing to stop that 
growth. 



FOR THE PROTECTION OF GOVERNMENT 
EMPLOYEES. 



Speech in Congress, May 16, 1908. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, this is a good bill. Its 
purpose is to compensate Government employees en- 
gaged in hazardous occupations in case they are injured. 
It is a step in the right direction, and I hope the bill 
will pass unanimously. It has been adopted in European 
countries, and it should be the lav/ in this country. In 
many things along these lines we are behind the age. 
The only criticism that I can make in regard to the pro- 
visions of the bill is that it does not go far enough to suit 
me. If I had my way, I would provide that every em- 
ployee of the Government engaged in hazardous pursuits 
should have the benefits of the terms of this bill. Why 
only include those engaged in certain departments of the 
Government? Why not include those engaged in hazar- 
dous employment in every department of the Govern- 
ment? They should all be included. It is only fair and 
just and proper. I will go as far as any man in Con- 
gress in enacting legislation to protect Government em- 
ployees. The honest, the industrious, and the faithful 
employees of the Government are entitled to this con- 
sideration. The bill should be amended to include all 
the employees of Uncle Sam engaged in dangerous oc- 
cupations. If the House had the opportunity to consider 
this bill as it ought to be considered, on its merits, I 
know there are enough Members in the House to vote 
to amend the bill so that it will provide some protection 
for all the employees of the Government. However, that 
cannot be done under the rule. This is the best we can 
get now, and I shall vote for the bill, and hope it will 
pass and become a law before we adjourn. 

182 



STATEHOOD FOR ARIZONA AND NEW 
MEXICO. 



Speech in Congress, February 15, 1909. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion it is a matter of sincere 
congratulation to all friends of home rule that at last 
Arizona and New Mexico are to be admitted to all the 
rights of sovereign States. In population, in natural re- 
sources, and by every principle of our free institutions 
they are justly entitled to statehood. For years and 
years I have been advocating this fundamental right, 
and I am glad that finally it has come, so far as the 
House is concerned; and I indulge the hope that the 
other branch of the Congress will also respond to public 
sentiment and speedily pass this bill and make it a law 
"before we finally adjourn. I also indulge the gratifying 
hope that when these two Territories become full-fledged 
States in the Union our distinguished colleague, Sir. 
Smith, and some other good Democrat will be the Sena- 
tors from Arizona ; and that our distinguished colleague, 
Mr. Andrews, and my good friend, Governor Curry, who 
is with us to-day, will be the first two Senators from 
New Mexico; provided, of course, that the Republicans 
control the legislature. 

So let us all rejoice that the last two Territories are 
now to be made in all respects sister States, with all the 
rights that it implies, and in this connection I desire to 
say there is one other right that is near and dear to my 
heart, and that is home rule for Alaska, local self-gov- 
ernment for Alaska — the grandest country on earth, the 
wonderland of the world, the richest asset in Uncle Sam's 
domains — and I hope the next Congress will grant 
Alaska territorial government, with all the rights evei 
possessed by any Territory. 

183 



THE RUSSIAN PASSPORT QUESTION. 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH IN CONGRESS, 

December 13, 191 1, in Support of His Resolution to 
Abrogate the Treaty with Russia. 

Mr. SULZER (when the Committee on Foreign Af- 
fairs was called) said: 

Mr. Speaker, I call up House joint resolution 166, pro- 
viding for the termination of the treaty of 1832 between 
the United States and Russia, which I send to the desk 
and ask to have read. 

The Clerk read as follows : 

"House joint resolution 166, providing for the termina- 
tion of the treaty of 1832 between the United States 
and Russia. 

"Resolved, etc.. That the people of the United States 
assert as a fundamental principle that the rights of its 
citizens shall not be impaired at home or abroad because 
of race or religion ; that the Government of the United 
States concludes its treaties for the equal protection of 
all classes of its citizens, without regard to race or re- 
ligion ; that the Government of the United States will 
not be a party to any treaty which discriminates, or 
w r hich by one of the parties thereto is so construed as to 
discriminate, between American citizens on the grounu 
of race or religion; that the Government of Russia has 
violated the treaty between the United States and Rus- 
sia, concluded at St. Petersburg December 18, 1832, re- 
fusing to honor American passports duly issued to 
American citizens, on account of race and religion; that 
in the judgment of the Congress the said treaty, for the 
reasons aforesaid, ought to be terminated at the earliest 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 185 



possible time ; that for the aforesaid reasons the said 
treaty is hereby declared to be terminated and of no 
further force and effect from the expiration of one year 
after the date of notification to the Government of Rus- 
sia of the terms of this resolution, and that to this end 
the President is hereby charged with the duty of com- 
municating such notice to the Government of Russia/' 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, the joint resolution just 
read by the Clerk of the House of Representatives speaks 
for itself and demands the abrogation of the Russian 
treaty concluded in St. Petersburg in 1832, because for 
nearly half a century Russia has persistently refused to 
abide by its terms and recognize passports of American 
citizens without discrimination. 

Treaties between nations should be free from am- 
biguity regarding the rights of their respective citizens 
to visit and sojourn in the country of each other, and 
should admit of no discrimination in favor of some citi- 
zens and against other citizens of either of the high con- 
tracting parties. It is customary among the nations of 
the world to recognize without discrimination the pass- 
ports of each, when duly issued and authenticated, to 
their respective citizens who desire to travel in other 
countries. 

The question now before the Congress of the United 
States regarding this "Russian passport question" re- 
solves itself into this : Has Russia by the treaty of 1832 
agreed to recognize American passports without dis- 
crimination ? 

To determine the matter it is necessary to read the 
provision in the treaty of 1832 between the United States 
and Russia. Article 1 of that treaty reads as follows; 

"There shall be between the territories of the high con- 
tracting parties a reciprocal liberty of commerce and 
navigation. The inhabitants of their respective States 
shall mutually have liberty to enter the ports, places, ami 
rivers of the territories of each party wherever foreign 
commerce is permitted. They shall be at liberty to so- 
journ and reside in all parts whatsoever of said terri- 



186 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



tories, in order to attend to their affairs, and they shall 
enjoy, to that effect, the same security and protection as 
natives of the country wherein they reside/' 

This provision of the treaty seems to be plain and 
clear, and gives citizens of the United States — 

"the right to sojourn and reside in all parts of Russia 
in order to attend to their affairs, and they shall enjoy 
the same security and protection as natives of the coun- 
try wherein they reside/' 

A treaty is the supreme law of the land, and Mr. Jus- 
tice Field, of the United States Supreme Court, laid 
down the construction of treaties in Geofroy v. Riggs 
(133 U. S., 271), in which he said: 

"It is a general principle of construction with respect 
to treaties that they shall be liberally construed, so as to 
carry out the apparent intent of the parties to secure 
equality and reciprocity between them. As they are con- 
tracts between independent nations, in their construc- 
tion, words are to be taken in their ordinary meaning, as 
understood in the public law of nations, and not in any 
artificial or special sense impressed upon them by local 
law, unless such restricted sense is clearly intended. And 
it has been held by this court that where a treaty admits 
of two constructions, one restrictive of rights that may 
be claimed under it and the other favorable to them, the 
latter is to be preferred." 

The treaty with Russia regarding the rights of our 
people to travel and sojourn in Russia is clear and ex- 
plicit. By virtue of its terms I am certain that no dis- 
crimination can be made against any American citizen 
desiring to visit Russia on account of race or religion; 
and when Russia makes this discrimination she violates 
the treaty and perpetrates an act unfriendly to the peo- 
ple of the United States. We cannot tolerate this in- 
justice to some of our citizens, this violation of treaty 
stipulations, this race prejudice, and this religious dis- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 187 



crimination. It is foreign to the fundamental principles 
of our free institutions and contrary to everything for 
which civilization stands at the dawn of the twentieth 
century. 

We assert that the Government of the United States 
has carefully lived up to its treaty obligations with Rus- 
sia. We have granted to every Russian coming to this 
country all the rights stipulated in the treaty, irrespect- 
ive of race or religion. That is our construction of the 
treaty of 1832 and demonstrates the intention of the 
United States Government in its conclusion. 

American citizens should have the same rights to visit 
and sojourn in Russia that Russian citizens have to visit 
and sojourn in the United States. If they do not, then 
the treaty is violated and it ought to be abrogated. 

The refusal of Russia to recognize American passports 
on account of race and religion is a clear violation, in 
my judgment, of the treaty, and the remaining question 
is one of remedy only. 

The first duty of our Government is to protect the 
rights of its citizens at home and abroad. All that is 
required on the part of the United States is a firm de- 
termination to do its duty to all its citizens, to do it at all 
times, and to do it in all places. The seal of the United 
States on a certificate of citizenship should render it 
valid and make it acceptable by all countries at its face 
value throughout the entire world. Our guarantee 
should be good. 

All argument based on the possible financial injury 
that may be done to those Americans who have business 
interests in Russia dwindles into mere nothingness when 
we consider that human rights and national honor are at 
stake. It is confidently believed that American citizens 
will not listen with equanimity to any suggestion which 
places the dollar above the man. Who can be patient 
when, under existing conditions, we are compelled to 
record the ignominious fact that during the past summer 
the proprietor of one of the most influential Jewish 
newspapers published in New York, who expressed a de- 
sire to go to Russia, was refused vise of his passport by 
the Russian consul at New York, but had no difficulty 



188 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

in procuring such vise from the Russian consul in 
London ? 

Diplomacy of the highest order has been employed in 
vain to bring about a change of policy on the part of the 
Russian Government. Both of the great political parties 
of this country, ever since 1904, in their national plat- 
forms declared that it is the unquestioned duty of the 
Government to procure for all our citizens, without dis- 
tinction, the rights of travel and sojourn in friendly coun- 
tries, and have pledged themselves to insist upon the just 
and equal protection of all of our citizens abroad, and 
have declared themselves in favor of all efforts tending 
to that end. They have further pledged themselves to 
insist upon the just and lawful protection of our citizens 
at home and abroad and to use all proper measures to se- 
cure for them, whether native born or naturalized and 
without distinction of race or creed, the equal protection 
of our laws and the enjoyment of all rights and priv- 
ileges open to them under the covenants of our treaties 
of friendship and commerce. 

On October 19, 1908, Senator Root, then Secretary 
of State, in a letter to Mr. Jacob H. Schiff, referring to 
the same subject, declared that our Government had 
never varied in its insistence upon equality of treatment 
for all American citizens who seek to enter Russia with 
passports, without regard to creed or race, and that the 
administration has repeatedly brought the matter to the 
attention of the Russian Government and urged the 
making of a new treaty for the purpose of regulating the 
subject. The communication concludes: 

"We have but very recently received an unfavorable 
reply to this proposal, and we have now communicated to 
Russia an expression of the desire of this Government 
for the complete revision and amendment of the treaty 
of 1832, which provides for reciprocal rights of resi- 
dence and travel on the part of the citizens of the two 
countries. We have expressed our views that such a 
course would be preferable to the complete termination 
of the treaty, subjecting both countries to the possibility 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 189 



of being left without any reciprocal rights whatever, ow- 
ing to the delay in the making of a new treaty." 

Seven years have passed since both political parties 
have made these declarations of principle ; three years 
have passed since this pointed statement of our State 
Department, and yet conditions are exactly the same as 
they were 40 years ago, there has been absolutely no 
progress in negotiation, the efforts of diplomacy have 
proven futile, and the same discrimination among our 
citizens continues. 

There has thus been inflicted, and continues to be in- 
flicted, a shameless affront upon the honor of our coun- 
try and upon the integrity of American citizenship. The 
insult is not upon the individuals as to whom there has 
been discrimination, but against the entire body of Ameri- 
can citizens, because a wrong done to one in his capacity 
as a citizen is a wrong inflicted upon every citizen. 

Our Government has been extremely patient and re- 
markably resourceful, yet there is nothing to indicate 
that anything can be accomplished by a continuance of 
the methods thus far employed. Russia believes that 
our Government has not been serious, and that its efforts 
have been ceremonial rather than real. The time has 
come at last when more decisive action is required, oth- 
erwise there will be good reasons for asserting that cer- 
tain classes of our citizens who have been singled out 
by Russia are under civil disabilities with the implied 
sanction of our Government. 

From a careful and an unprejudiced investigation of 
all the circumstances in this controversy, it seems evi- 
dent to me, and it must be apparent to every sensible 
and fair-minded person, that when the treaty with 
Russia was concluded it was the intention of Russia and 
the United States that the rights granted by Article I of 
that treaty should extend equally to every citizen of this 
country without discrimination of any kind whatsoever. 

This being so, it is self-evident from the record in the 
case that Russia has for years continually violated this 
provision of the treaty by refusing to recognize pass- 



igo SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



ports granted to American citizens on account of race or 
religion. 

This is not a Jewish question. It is an American 
question. It involves a great principle. It affects the 
rights of all American citizens. Russia not only refuses 
to recognize American passports held by Jews on account 
of their race or their religion but she also refuses, when 
she sees fit, to recognize American passports held by 
Baptist missionaries, Catholic priests and Presbyterian 
divines, on account of their religious belief. 

The Government of the United States declares as a 
fundamental principle that all men are equal before the 
law regardless of race or religion, and makes no dis- 
tinction based on the creeds or the birthplaces of its 
citizens in this connection, nor can it consistently per- 
mit such distinctions to be made by a foreign power. We 
solemnly assert, and must maintain, that the rights of 
our citizens at home or abroad shall not be impaired on 
account of race or religion. 

Not the religion, nor the race of a man, but his Ameri- 
can citizenship is the true test of the treatment he shall 
receive and the rights he shall enjoy under the law at 
home and abroad. This is fundamental. We must ad- 
here to it tenaciously. 

Freedom of religious belief — the right to worship our 
Maker according to the dictates of our conscience — is 
one of the cornerstones of our free institutions, and 
so jealous of this liberty were the fathers that they wrote 
in the Federal Constitution : 

"Congress shall make no law respecting the establish- 
ment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." 

We must maintain this great principle of religious 
freedom inviolate forever. 

Mr. Speaker, what action should the Congress of the 
United States take in this matter? I have given much 
thought to this inquiry and have finally concluded that 
the best thing we can do to remedy this injustice to 
American citizens is to serve the usual official notice of 
12 months on Russia that we desire to abrogate the 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 191 

treaty of 1832, and that at the expiration of the notice, 
given in accordance with the terms of the treaty, it shall 
be null and void. 

We must be true to the great principles of justice and 
freedom and equality on which our Government is 
founded. We must not connive at the discrimination of 
any American citizen on account of his race or his re- 
ligion or permit any foreign power to discriminate 
against him for these reasons. To do so belittles our 
dignity, is an insult to every American, and makes our 
boast of equal rights to all a hollow mockery. 

Russia must recognize American passports without 
discrimination on account of race or religion, or the 
Russian treaty should be abrogated. Our self-respect 
demands it. The memories of the past dictate it; our 
hope for the future commands it. No other course is 
open to the United States, and for this Government to 
submit longer to the violation by Russia of the treaty 
is a humiliation to our sense of justice and to our love 
for our fellow man that merits the condemnation of 
every patriotic citizen in America. 

We are a patient and a long-suffering people where 
the question involved does not touch us on our tenderest 
spot — our pocketbooks; but the patriotic awakening has 
come at last, and with it a keen realization of the af- 
fronts we have suffered for years at the hands of a Gov- 
ernment notorious for its lack of human sympathy. 

This is not a partisan question. It is an American 
matter. In a dignified way we say to Russia we give you 
the official notice provided for in the treaty to abrogate 
the same, because you have violated it — because it is 
obsolete — and we want to negotiate a new treaty with 
you in harmony with the spirit of the times ; and we say 
to all the world in calmness and in deliberation, the Gov- 
ernment of the United States puts human rights above 
commercial gain in writing treaty contracts with the 
powers of the earth. 

Mr. Speaker, this joint resolution introduced by me 
has been unanimously reported from the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs of this House, and I congratulate my 
colleagues on the committee for their expedition and 



192 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



their broad-minded patriotism in the matter. Behind 
this resolution is an overwhelming case of treat}* viola- 
tion, as conclusive in its details as it is incontrovertible 
in its proofs. 

Nevertheless, in adopting to-day this resolution to 
abrogate the Russian treaty we but follow precedent. We 
do nothing new, nothing startling, nothing onensive. We 
assert a fundamental principle, act advisedly on a vested 
privilege, declare that human rights are more important 
than commercial rights for the welfare of a free and a 
progressive people, and invoke the impartial judgment of 
every liberty-loving and right-thinking citizen in our 
country on the justification of our action in the premises. 

The press and the pupil, the bench and the bar, the 
Jew and the Gentile, the poor and the rich, the weak and 
the powerful,, the Catholic and the Protestant throughout 
patriotic America demand that the Russian treaty be 
abrogated. The people are aroused about the matter as 
they never have been before over the question, and the 
time for action by the Congress has come. 

There can be no arbitration of this elemental princi- 
ple of our Government ; there must be no more delay ; 
the matter must be settled now and for all time, and a 
new treaty hereafter negotiated in which Russia can 
find no loophole to enable her in the future to discrimi- 
nate against any American citizen on account of race or 
religion; a new treaty that will be up to date; that will 
be in harmony with the twentieth century; that will be 
in sympathy with human rights : that will not override 
our Federal Constitution ; that will not violate our na- 
tional ideals : and that will not dishonor the virtue and 
the integrity of the passports of our splendid and intelli- 
gent and patriotic American citizenship. 



THE RUSSIAN PASSPORT QUESTION. 



MR. SULZER'S SECOND SPEECH ON SAME 
SUBJECT. 

In the House of Representatives, December 20, 191 1. 

The SPEAKER laid before the House the joint reso- 
lution of the House No. 166, with Senate amendments 
thereto. 

The Senate amendments were read. 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, I now move to concur 
in the Senate amendments to House joint resolution 166, 
introduced by me, to terminate the Russian treaty of 
1832, and I desire to be heard upon that motion. 

The SPEAKER. The gentleman from New York 
moves to concur in the Senate amendments of House 
joint resolution 166, and is entitled to one hour under 
the rule. 

Mr. SULZER. Mr. Speaker, on account of the limited 
time at our disposal ere adjournment for the holiday re- 
cess and in view of the fact that a year will be lost in 
the termination of the treaty of 1832 with Russia unless 
action be taken on the pending motion to-day, and for 
more substantial reasons of state, I have moved to con- 
cur in the Senate amendments to House joint resolution 
166, introduced by me, to terminate the treaty of 1832 
with Russia. I hope the House will adopt this motion 
and again prove that it can rise above partisanship and 
on an occasion of international moment be truly 
American. 

I want to say to the House now what I have said to 
individual Members heretofore, that so long as I am the 
chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the 
House of Representatives I shall never stoop to play 



194 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



petty politics with a matter concerning our relations with 
a foreign government. I put patriotism above party 
policy; the good of all the people ahead of political ex- 
pediency. 

So in justice to the House I should say that in the 
framing and the adoption of our resolution to terminate 
the antiquated Russian treaty of 1832 we cared more 
for the substance than we did for the mere form. We 
were not seeking glory but results. We wanted to ter- 
minate the Russian treaty, and we went about it in the 
most direct way by telling the truth as we knew the 
truth. I believe that truth is mighty and will prevail in 
every cause, and in this case the results sought certainly 
have been achieved quicker than we expected. 

What are the facts? For 40 years every Secretary of 
State has wrestled with this Russian passport question 
and accomplished little. For 40 years every President 
has endeavored to achieve something in regard to this 
matter without avail. In four days the House of Repre- 
sentatives accomplished just what was desired. That 
shows what can be done if you want to do it and know 
how to do it. 

We rise superior to partisanship now that we have 
won what we wanted, and say we will accept the Senate 
amendments. We are not interested in the technicali- 
ties of the words of the resolution, but in the termina- 
tion of the treaty. We have achieved that. I am con- 
tent. We should be satisfied with the result; but in jus- 
tice to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and to the 
membership of this House, I want to say now, and I 
measure my words, that Russia made no protest, directly 
or indirectly, against the adoption of the resolution which 
passed the House of Representatives last Wednesday by 
a vote of 300 to 1. [Applause.] We need never apolo- 
gize for that resolution. No true American will apolo- 
gize for it. 

Mr. HARRISON rose. 

The SPEAKER. Does the gentleman from New 
York yield to his colleague? 

Mr. SULZER. Yes; a little later on. I do not care 
to yield at present. As an evidence of the fact that Rus- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 195 



sia made no protest, I need only say to those familiar 
with the customs of diplomacy that the Russian Govern- 
ment would be acting contrary to all precedents to do 
anything of that character. It would be in violation of 
all diplomatic usages ; and besides, if the Government of 
Russia had done anything so at variance with polite 
diplomatic practice, it was the duty of the executive 
branch of the Government to communicate it to the legis- 
lative branch of the Government, which had the matter 
under consideration. As a matter of fact, the House 
resolution was not offensive to Russia, and that Govern- 
ment took no exception to its phraseology. 

For the purpose of the record I want to read the reso- 
lution of the House. It declared : 

"That the people of the United States assert as a fun- 
damental principle that the rights of its citizens shall not 
be impaired at home or abroad because of race or re- 
ligion; that the Government of the United States con- 
cludes its treaties for the equal protection of all classes 
of its citizens, without regard to race or religion; that 
the Government- of the United States will not be a party 
to any treaty which discriminates, or which by one of 
the parties thereto is so construed as to discriminate, be- 
tween American citizens on the ground of race or re- 
ligion; that the Government of Russia has violated the 
treaty between the United States and Russia concluded at 
St. Petersburg December 18, 1832, refusing to honor 
American passports duly issued to American citizens, on 
account of race and religion ; that in the judgment of 
the Congress the said treaty, for the reasons aforesaid, 
ought to be terminated at the earliest possible time ; that 
for the aforesaid reasons the said treaty is hereby de- 
clared to be terminated and of no further force and 
effect from the expiration of one year after the date of 
notification to the Government of Russia of the terms 
of this resolution, and that to this end the President is 
hereby charged with the duty of communicating such no- 
tice to the Government of Russia." 

That resolution speaks for itself. As the author of it, 
I submit no amends ; I offer no apologies ; but I call the 



196 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



attention of the country to the fact that there is not a 
line in it requesting the President to communicate the 
identical resolution to the Russian Government. Some 
of the newspapers erred about this phase of the question. 
The resolution said in its last two lines that the Con- 
gress terminated the treaty and that — 

"the President is hereby charged with the duty of com- 
municating such notice to the Government of Russia." 

What notice ? That the treaty be terminated in ac- 
cordance with its terms. Therefore I say again that all 
of the stories in the newspapers, which emanated from 
a source to which I do not care to refer at the present 
time, for good and sufficient reasons, regarding the at- 
titude of the Russian Government in opposition to this 
resolution on account of its form, had no foundation in 
fact. Suffice it for me to reiterate that the House reso- 
lution expressed the overwhelming sentiment of the peo- 
ple of this country, and to the credit of their Representa- 
tives be it said that this House responded to that popu- 
lar sentiment and passed the resolution by a vote of 300 
to 1. 

Sometimes, Mr. Speaker, it is a good thing for us to 
pause in our legislative duties regarding trade interests 
and commercial rights and devote a day or two to human 
interests and the rights of American citizens at home and 
abroad. I stand to-day as I always have stood in the 
past, and as I always hope to stand in the future, in 
Congress or out of Congress, for equal rights to all and 
special privileges to none — for the dignity of American 
citizenship here and everywhere. If I believe in any- 
thing, I believe in the doctrine of the great Scotch bard, 
Bobby Burns : 

U A man's a man for a 5 that." 

And, sir, I am glad to say that years ago the Congress 
of the United States said more in a statute than this 
resolution affirms, when it passed the act of 1868, being 
sections 1999 and 2000 of the United States Revised Sta- 
tutes. In order that it may be heard again in this House, 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



197 



and in order that it may go upon the record, I send it to 
the Clerk's desk and ask to have it read. 
The Clerk read as follows : 

''Sec. 1999. Whereas the right of expatriation is a 
natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to 
the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pur- 
suit of happiness ; and whereas, in the recognition of this 
principle, this Government has freely received emigrants 
from all nations and invested them with the rights of 
citizenship ; and whereas it is claimed that such American 
citizens, with their descendants, are subject of foreign 
States, owing allegiance to the Governments thereof ; 
and whereas it is necessary to the maintenance of public 
peace that this claim of foreign allegiance should be 
promptly and finally disavowed : Therefore any declara- 
tion, instruction, opinion, order, or decision of any officer 
of the United States which denies, restricts, impairs, or 
questions the right of expatriation is declared inconsistent 
w r ith the fundamental principles of the Republic. 

"Sec. 2000. All naturalized citizens of the United 
States, while in foreign countries, are entitled to and 
shall receive from this Government the same protection of 
person and property which is accorded to native-born 
citizens/' 

Mr. Speaker, that act was passed in 1868. It is the 
law of the land to-day and my resolution passed by the 
House simply reaffirmed it. Almost every Government 
on earth has now recognized our doctrine of expatria- 
tion except the Russian Government. By virtue of the 
treaty of 1832 Russia still adheres to the doctrine of in- 
defeasible allegiance, which means once a Russian sub- 
ject always a Russian subject. We can not admit that. 
The time has come when every Government must rec- 
ognize the American doctrine of expatriation. The law 
of 1868 means just what it says. 

The passage of that act by Congress was substantially 
a repeal of that portion of the treaty of 1832 with Russia 
in which the doctrine of indefeasible allegiance is enunci- 
ated. So much for that. 



193 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Now, let me be fair and just to all and take up a few 
things in connection with the pending proposition which 
perhaps need to be cleared up for the truth of history. 
What are the facts? The House of Represntatives on 
Wednesday, the 13th day of December, passed House 
joint resolution 166, to terminate the Russian treaty of 
1832. On Thursday, the 14th day of December, that 
resolution was presented to the Senate and was referred 
by the Vice President to the Committee on Foreign 
Relations, and the Committee on Foreign Relations had 
the House resolution under consideration. On the 17th 
day of December — last Sunday — four days after the 
House passed the resolution and while it was pending in 
the Senate, the President sent a cable to the American 
ambassador at St. Petersburg directing him to present 
the formal notice, mentioned in the House resolution, to 
the Russian Government to the effect that the United 
States desired to terminate the treaty of 1832. 

On Monday, the 18th day of December, the President 
sent to the Senate a message regarding this subject, and 
in that message says, among other things, that he di- 
rected the American ambassador at St. Petersburg to say 
to the Russian Government that it — 

"Will recall the fact that this ancient treaty, as is quite 
natural, is no longer fully responsive in various respects 
to the needs of the political and material relations of the 
two countries, which grow constantly more important. 
The treaty has also given rise from time to time to cer- 
tain controversies, equally regretted by both Govern- 
ments/' 

Before this communication to the Senate on Monday, 
the 18th instant, was read the Senate Committee on For- 
eign Relations reported House joint resolution 166 with 
the amendments which have been read at the Clerk's 
desk. On Tuesday, the 19th instant, the Senate passed 
the resolution amended. It is now before us for con- 
currence. The story is plain. No one will misunder- 
stand its significance. No comment from me is neces- 
sary. I do not want to say a word of criticism of any 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 199 



official. This matter is international. It concerns hu- 
man rights. It rises to the dignity of being above politi- 
cal advantage. I have put it on a higher plane than 
partisanship. I shall keep it there. I want no glory ; I 
strive for results ; but we can not fail to understand the 
significance of these dates and what they mean. 

The people of the country will not fail to understand. 
They know the House of Representatives, responding to 
the popular sentiment and the patriotic desire of America, 
passed on Wednesday, the 13th of December, the resolu- 
tion to terminate the Russian treaty; that the President 
on Sunday, December the 17th, acted upon the resolution 
of the House, ignoring the Senate, which had the matter 
under consideration ; that then the President on Monday, 
the 1 8th of December, ignoring the House of Represen- 
tatives which had passed the resolution, sent a message 
to the Senate asking that body to ratify his action in 
sending the official notice to the Russian Government in 
accordance with the resolution passed by the House ; that 
then the Senate on Monday, December the 18th, ignored 
the President by reporting the House resolution with 
an amendment, so that both branches of Congress coulfi 
ratify the President's sudden action and legally terminate 
the treaty. I could quote a famous couplet about the 
President's action — but then what is the use, the House 
has won and we should be content. 

Mr. Speaker, the record tells the story. The House 
emerges gracefully and has won triumphantly. The 
country will understand why the President acted so sud- 
denly in notifying Russia that the United States ter- 
minated the treaty of 1832 in accordance with the House 
resolution, and many will wonder and keep on wondering 
until the end of the next campaign why, if he had the 
power to do what he did — and many doubt it — why, I 
say, did he wait so long to do it ? However, let that go. 
But I want to repeat now what I said before, that I 
never had any vanity in the authorship of the House 
resolution which bears my name to terminate the Rus- 
sian treaty. My friends know I am above little things 
like that. Nevertheless, I did have some pride in the 
phraseology of the resolution, because it stated the truth, 



200 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



and I believe the truth will prevail in every cause. It 

has in this case, at all events. 

No true American is afraid of the truth. Besides, my 
resolution enunciated great fundamental principles of 
the rights of citizenship, native and naturalized, at home 
and abroad, which I believe to be the time-honored pol- 
icy of our country, and in order that there should never 
be any question about it in the future I was anxious to 
have the resolution written upon our statute books. The 
action of the House in this matter, however, will stand 
as a landmark for all time to come, and it voiced beyond 
the peradventure of doubt the overwhelming sentiment 
of the liberty-loving people of our country. 

What has been done by the House of Representatives 
and the President and the Senate speaks for itself and is 
now history. The battle for equal rights to all our citi- 
zens, at home and abroad, is won. The result the House 
sought is accomplished. Why quibble? Let us rather 
rejoice with every friend of freedom in the victory for 
humanity achieved through the agency of the House of 
Representatives. The Russian treaty of 1832 will soon 
be terminated ; the dignity of an American passport 
vindicated ; and equality of all American citizens at home 
and abroad, regardless of race or religion, officially enun- 
ciated. 

]\Ir. Speaker, this House gave no offense to Russia. 
Russia took no offense at anything that this House did. 
But this matter is one of much graver moment than the 
termination of the treaty. That is a right no one ques- 
tions. We not only want to terminate this treaty for all 
the reasons which have been asserted, but we want to 
continue friendly relations with the Government of Rus- 
sia. We want to meet Russia halfway, to negotiate and 
conclude a new treaty that will be up to date and in 
harmony with the spirit of the times ; and I would be 
the last man in this Plouse or in this country to put a 
straw in the way of the distinguished Secretary who 
graces the State Department to bring about its accom- 
plishment, so devoutly wished by every patriotic citizen 
in America. 

Mr. Harrison of New York : Does the chairman of 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



the committee know who was responsible for giving to 
the press of the United States the statement, almost 
unanimously by them published, to the effect that the 
adoption of the House resolution would be considered 
an insult by Russia? And does he further know whether 
that statement was put into the newspapers to have any 
effect upon the minds of legislators in this country ? 

Mr. Sulzer : In reply to the question of my colleague 
from New York, I desire to say — and I speak advisedly 
— that the statement did not emanate from the State 
Department. The newspapers of the country were de- 
ceived. As I said, Russia made no representations con- 
cerning the action of the House, formally or informally, 
directly or indirectly. The matter is all over now, and I 
am so anxious to help those upon whom the responsibil- 
ity devolves to conclude a new treaty, that will be just 
to all, that I do not care to say anything further on the 
subject. It is a closed incident, so far as I am con- 
cerned. It is the duty of Congress now, it seems to me, 
to make the task of the Secretary of State as easy as 
possible, and that is one of the reasons I am asking the 
House to concur in the Senate amendments. 



EDITORIAL IN "THE PUBLIC" BY LOUIS F. 

POST. 



January 26, 1912. 

THE RUSSIAN-TREATY ABROGATION. 

Those of us who recall the proceedings for abrogating 
the Russian treaty will remember that great stress was 
laid by Administration agencies upon the "offensive tone" 
of Congressman Sulzer's resolution which the House 
adopted and the Senate amended. That resolution ought 
not to be forgotten. It declared the true democratic at- 
titude of the United States in all such matters, with 
reference not alone to American Jews, but tp Americans 
of all races and religions. Since its terms were objec- 
tionable to President Taft and to a majority of the Sen- 
ate, we quote the declaration in full : 

"That the people of the United States assert as a fun- 
damental principle that the rights of its citizens shall not 
be impaired at home or abroad because of race or re- 
ligion; that the government of the United States con- 
cludes its treaties for the equal protection of all classes 
of its citizens, without regard to race or religion; that 
the Government of the United States will not be a 
party to any treaty which discriminates, or which by 
one of the parties thereto is so construed as to discrimi- 
nate between American citizens on the ground of race 
or religion ; that the Government of Russia has violated 
the treaty between the United States and Russia con- 
cluded at St. Petersburg, December 18, 1832, refusing 
to honor American passports duly issued to American 
citizens on account of race and religion ; that in the judg- 
ment of the Congress the said treaty, for the reasons 

202 * 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 203 



aforesaid, ought to be terminated at the earliest possible 
time; that for the aforesaid reasons the said treaty is 
hereby declared to be terminated and of no further force 
and effect from the expiration of one year after the date 
of notification to the government of Russia of the terms 
of this resolution, and that to this end the President is 
hereby charged with the duty of communicating such no- 
tice to the government of Russia/' 

Now, why were the President and Senators opposed to 
that resolution ? Was it the democracy of it ? Did they 
see that it would include Negro citizens, for instance, 
and might become embarrassing as a precedent? They 
didn't say so. What they said was that the Russian gov- 
ernment had protested against that form, and that there- 
fore its adoption would be an affront to a friendly power. 
But Russia had in fact not protested. An error of the 
Associated Press, widely published, indeed gave an ap- 
pearance of truth to this plea of a Russian protest; but 
the Associated Press correction, not widely published, 
was ignored. Here is the proof, over the signature of 
the General Manager of the Associated Press, Mr. Stone, 
in a letter to Congressman Sulzer : 

"It is quite true that in a dispatch dated Washington, 
December 16th, The Associated Press was led to say that 
the Russian Government had protested against the House 
resolution through Ambassador Bakhmeteff. But on 
December 18 we carried and transmitted to the Ameri- 
can newspapers a rather lengthy dispatch from St. Pe- 
tersburg in which the Russian Foreign Office denied ex- 
plicitly that any such protest had been made. Also, on 
the same date we carried a dispatch from Washington 
quoting Secretary Knox as saying that Russia had not 
protested either 'against the abrogation of the treaty or 
against the language of the Sulzer resolution.' So that 
it seems to me we have already clarified the situation as 
well as it is possible for us to do." 

Evidently the amending of the Sulzer resolution was 
not to oblige Russia. Nor was it lightly done. There 



204 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



was a purpose, and now this purpose seems obvious. 
For the Senate solemnly to declare the equality of cit- 
izenship rights under treaties, regardless of race, might 
make much trouble in the future for gentlemen of Sen- 
atorial and Presidential size who never cross race lines 
except when angling for race votes. 



MR. SULZER'S LETTER TO MR. BEHAR. 



I SHALL FIGHT AS LONG AS I LIVE FOR JUS- 
TICE TO ALL. 

"House of Representatives U. S., 
"Washington, D. C., November 5, 1908. 

"Nissim Behar, Esq., 

"Federation of Jewish Organizations, New York City. 

"Dear Sir: I would not be true to myself if I did 
not, at the first opportunity, thank you for the assistance 
given me by your organization in the recent campaign, 
and at the same time to assure you of my sincere ap- 
preciation of the great work you are doing for your 
people — and I may say our common humanity — so near 
and dear to my heart. 

"In the matter of immigration you have aided me 
much in the fight against unjust restriction and racial 
discrimination. You have done wonderful work in help- 
ing me to refute and repudiate the exaggerated reports 
and unfounded stories of criminality amongst your co- 
religionists, by the authentic and conclusive statistics 
prepared by your organization. In this respect I must 
not forget crediting you also with the admirable under- 
taking of establishing a Big Brothers' Society to care 
for juvenile offenders. Your work should receive the 
support and commendation of every liberal-minded and 
patriotic citizen in the land. 

"Let me assure you again that I am with you heart 
and soul; that I mean to stand by you in the future as 
in the past ; and that no man knows better than I do the 
great work you are doing for humanity. In your fight 
for the rights of man your platform is mine. You stand 
for the moral and the social uplifting of the poor and 

205 



zo6 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



the lowly; of the oppressed and the persecuted. So do 
I. I fight, and will continue to fight so long as I live, 
for justice and equality to all. In my struggle for the 
rights of man I know no race, no creed, no previous 
condition or servitude. I am for man — that's all— and 
it makes no difference to me where he was born, or what 
his name may be. An injustice to one is the concern of 
all. That's my platform. And when I see any race, 
whether in the Orient or the Occident; in Ireland or in 
Russia; in South Africa or in the Philippines; singled 
out for oppression, and persecuted on account of race 
or religion, my heart goes out to that people and I know 
where my true work lies. Herein you see me truly — 
and all that I am and all that I hope to be. I could not 
if I would, and I would not if I could, be otherwise. 

"With best wishes for your success in the cause of 
humanity, believe me, very sincerely yours, 

Wm, Sulzer /' 



FOR THE MERIT SYSTEM. 



In Congress December 9, 1908. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, I have just a few words to say. I shall 
vote for the amendment offered by the gentleman from 
Massachusetts. It is in line with real civil service. An 
experience of years in public life has convinced me of 
the efficiency of the merit system, and for one I shall 
never do anything to break it down. I believe the adop- 
tion of this amendment will facilitate the work of the 
Census Bureau and be for the best interests of the Gov- 
ernment. These clerks should be appointed under the 
competitive system. It will be fair to all. It will be 
best for all. We can trust the Director of the Census 
Bureau to provide that these examinations shall speedily 
be held all over this country and in ample time to get 
the very best clerks the country can produce for this 
service. I attach no importance whatever to the ob- 
jections of the gentleman from Indiana to this amend- 
ment. They are untenable and, it seems to me, far- 
fetched. I am in favor of true civil service — in a real 
merit system of appointment — as the best method of 
selection thus far devised. Hence, I hope the amend- 
ment will be adopted in the interest of the best service, 
in the interest of all the people of the country, and for 
the most efficient work in securing the next census. 



207 



FOR CONSERVATION. 



In Congress, Washington, Saturday, May 23, 1908. We 
Must Preserve Our Forests, Protect Our Water- 
sheds, and Promote the Utilities of Our Rivers from 
Source to Sea — This is the Plain Duty of the Hour, 
and if We Fail to do it, We Invite the Deluge and 
Create the Desert. 

SPEECH OF MR. SULZER IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, THURSDAY, MAY 21, I908. 

The House having under consideration the bill (H. R. 
21986) to enable any State to cooperate with any other 
State or States, or with the United States, for the con- 
servation of the navigability of navigable rivers, and to 
provide for the appointment of a commission — - 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : This bill to create a forest commission 
to investigate something and report next yea* nothing 
regarding the protection of the forests within the water- 
sheds of the White Mountains and the Southern Appa- 
lachian range is a sad disappointment to the real friends 
of genuine forest preservation. It means more delay — 
and procrastination has been the order of the day — in 
this momentous matter. We had indulged the hope that 
the Appalachian forest reservation bill would be reported 
and passed before this session of Congress adjourned; 
but, alas, our fondest expectations are again destined to 
be shattered by this little apology for the real legisla- 
tion so earnestly demanded by the far-seeing people of 
the country. 

Now, I want to say that I am opposed to this delay. I 
look with suspicion on this makeshift. Instead of the 
House of Representatives responding to the appeals of 

208 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 209 



the people and meeting this great question in a broad and 
statesmanlike way, the powers that be in this House 
direct that the committee bring in this bill to delegate 
away our legislative rights to a perfunctory commission. 
It is a great mistake. The people are being humbugged. 
The pretext will not answer. We are sent here to legis- 
late on this question, and on all other questions, and we 
should not seek to escape the responsibility. The Con- 
gress is the lawmaking body of this Government. The 
people elected us to legislate, and if we are too indolent 
or too ignorant or too incompetent to do it, we ought 
to be manly enough to say so and resign and go home 
and let the people elect Members w T ho are capable enough 
and competent enough and industrious enough to legis- 
late, not only on this matter, but on all other matters. 

I am opposed to delegating away the powers of the 
legislative branch of the Government to irresponsible 
commissions. I am against legislation by commissions. 
I do not like too much commission-made law. I am op- 
posed to this legislative commission business — to a com- 
mission to investigate the tariff schedules, to a commis- 
sion to report on banking and currency, to a commission 
to look into this matter of forest preservation, and to 
commissions to do various other things. It is all wrong. 
It all means delay — more procrastination. These com- 
missions to do this, and to do that, and to do something 
or other, are merely excuses for delay and for junketing 
parties, called into being to have a good time, created to 
spend the people's money, and nine times out of ten 
utterly useless and barren of beneficial results. We are 
sent here to do the people's business. Let us obey their 
mandates and endeavor to meet their expectations. 

I am in favor of preserving our forests by intelligent 
forestry legislation. I am in favor of protecting our 
watersheds, and utilizing to the utmost our numerous 
rivers as they flow from the mountains to the seas ; and 
I believe that now is as good a time to begin as some 
time in the future. We must preserve our forests; we 
must protect our watersheds ; we must promote the util- 
ities of our rivers from source to sea. This is the plain 
duty of the hour; and if we fail to do it, we invite the 



2io SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



deluge and create the desert. This is a great economical 
question. I warn the House that delay in this matter is 
dangerous. Let us do our duty now and not endeavor to 
escape responsibility by delegating our powers to this 
commission that will be impotent to accomplish per- 
manent results. 

Now, what does this little commission bill do ? Briefly, 
it provides, in the first section, that the consent of the 
United States is given to any State to enter into any com- 
pact or agreement, not in violation of the law of the 
United States, with any other State or States. The sec- 
ond section makes an appropriation of $100,000 to enable 
the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into cooperative 
arrangements with the States or with owners of private 
w r oodlands for the administration and utilization of the 
same. Just what the result of that will be I know not. 
The remaining sections of the bill provide for the ap- 
pointment of a commission of ten members, five to be 
appointed by the Speaker of the House and five to be 
appointed by the presiding officer of the Senate; these 
ten to take into consideration all questions relating to 
the proposed forest reservations of the White and Ap- 
palachian mountains. 

The action of the committee in this matter — from the 
bill to do something, now pending in the committee, to 
this commission bill, just sprung on us, to do nothing — 
is the merest kind of a makeshift — the rankest kind of 
an apology — intended only for delay and to escape re- 
sponsibility ; and the whole proceeding is most deplor- 
able. I regret it exceedingly, and I appeal to the wis- 
dom and to the sagacity and to the patriotism of the 
Members of Congress to do something substantial now 
before it is too late. We are behind the age on this 
all-important question of the conservation of our nat- 
ural resources. We have received a mighty heritage and 
with it a corresponding responsibility. We are the trus- 
tees for future generations; and we will be false to 
ourselves, false to our country, and false to our trust if 
we do not do our duty and preserve, in so far as we 
can, what we enjoy for the benefit of those that come 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 211 



after us. Let us be true to our trust and true to the 
ages yet to come. Willful waste makes woeful want. 

Mr. Speaker, we must preserve our forests ; we mt -t 
protect our watersheds ; we must look after our rivers, 
from their source to the sea. It is one of the most im- 
portant questions of the day, and further delay is crim- 
inal. We must wake up before our forests are denuded 
and our rivers destroyed. After the forests are gone 
this is what will happen : The soil dries up, loses its 
fibrous life, and by erosion is rapidly washed down into 
the rivers, where it is deposited to the detriment of 
navigation, necessitating millions of dollars of Govern- 
ment money each year for dredging. The heavier forest 
debris, which is not removed, dries up and becomes a 
tangled mass of timber, that takes fire from the hunter's 
or the woodman's match, or when the lightning strikes it. 
The fires, beginning in this debris, spread to the forests 
that are left and every year do incalculable damage; 
then the springs and the multitude of tiny brooks that 
feed the rivers are dried up, and the latter in the dry 
season get very low, causing enormous loss of the water 
power which runs the great mills ; then the snows melt 
and the heavy later rains begin. There is no soil now to 
hold back and distribute equably this downfall on the 
steep slopes, and so we have the devastating floods, 
which annually entail enormous losses. 

And so, sir, it follows like the night the day that after 
the devastation of the forests comes the deluge and then 
a barren waste and then death to all living things and 
then the rainless desert. It is thus that annihilation has 
come upon some of the greatest empires and richest do- 
mains that the world has ever seen. Once upon a time, 
before the mountain forests of Lebanon were destroyed, 
Palestine blossomed like a rose and supported in much 
affluence a population of 10,000,000. The mountains 
have long been denuded. Forbidding slopes, barren and 
ugly, rear their weird forms sharply above dismal and 
desolate valleys. Scarcely 400,000 people remain in all 
the region, and most of these are in hopeless and abject 
poverty. 



212 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



The valley of Babylon, where once stood the metropolis 
o the world, is abandoned and forlorn. Nineveh, the 
magnificent city of the ancients, is buried beneath the 
shifting sands of time. Desert wastes cover the sites of 
Carthage and Tyre and Sidon, yet bountiful nature once 
provided for these places its richest gifts of fertility and 
abundance. Antioch is gone and all Syria is a scene of 
irreparable ruin. The destruction of her forests, fol- 
lowed by the disappearance of her soil and the decay of 
her industries, foreshadowed the inevitable result. Man 
destroyed the forests, and the lands which once flowed 
with milk and honey were transformed into desert 
wastes. One-third of China, it is said, has been ren- 
dered uninhabitable, and the ruined hills of southern 
Italy will no longer support their population, and testify 
in mute eloquence the consequence of forest slaughter. 
Is such a mournful record of devastation and destruc- 
tion, of decay and annihilation, to be repeated in Amer- 
ica? I trust not. But I warn my fellow-countrymen 
that if the carnival of loot of our natural resources is 
not stopped, and speedily stopped, and the forests ad- 
ministered for perpetual use, history will repeat itself, 
an<d the inevitable must follow here as in other lands. 
We can not escape if we destroy principal and interest. 
Let us do our duty now or sooner or later this will be 
a national issue that will sweep all opposition aside. 

The intelligent conservation of our wonderful natural 
resources means much to our glorious country now, and 
much more in lasting benefits to future generations. The 
willful waste of these natural resources — the devastation 
of our forests, the destruction of our watersheds, the 
elimination of our rivers — means decay and death and 
desert wastes, means in the centuries yet to come the 
conditions we now witness in northern Africa, in western 
Asia, in Italy, and in Spain. The world is learning by 
experience. We must learn in the same school. We 
can not have our cake and eat it, too. We can not 
violate natural laws with impunity; we can not neglect 
fundamental principles and escape the consequences ; we 
can not decimate our forests and have our rivers, too, 
and without them our fertile fields will ere long be barren 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



wastes. Shall the history of the ancients repeat itself 
here? Shall we never take heed? In the story of the 
past let us realize the duty of the present, and by doing 
our duty now we will be true to our trust, true to hu- 
manity, true to ourselves, and future generations will 
rise up and call us blessed. 



EULOGY ON THE LATE SENATOR JOHN T. 
MORGAN. 



IN CONGRESS, APRIL 25, I908. 

The House having under consideration the following 
resolutions : 

"Resolved, That the House now proceed to pay tribute 
to the memory of Hon. John T. Morgan, late a Senator 
from the State of Alabama. 

"Resolved, That, as a special mark of respect to the 
memory of the deceased and in recognition of his dis- 
tinguished public services, the House at the conclusion 
of the exercises to-day shall stand in recess until Mon- 
day next. 

"Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolu- 
tions to the Senate. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : In the death of Senator John T. Mor- 
gan the Commonwealth of Alabama lost her foremost 
and best beloved citizen, and the country one of its great- 
est and most esteemed statesmen. He was a grand old 
man, honest and brave, eloquent and courageous, learned 
and logical, sagacious and patriotic, and his departure to 
the undiscovered land leaves a void in our public and 
private life which can not be filled. He will be missed 
more and more as the years come and go. He was a 
gentleman of the old school, a man of heroic mold, of 
much reading and constructive ability, of the highest 
honor, of unquestioned integrity 7 , a part of our history 
for more than half a century, and in his personality he 
linked the glories and the memories of the past with the 
plod and progress of the prosaic present. For thirty 

214 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 215 



years and more, like a Roman senator in the brightest era 
of the ancient Republic, he stood like a giant oak in the 
greatest legislative forum of the world eloquently cham- 
pioning the rights of man and battling for the cause of 
Democracy — as brilliant as Clay, as industrious as Ben- 
ton, as logical as Calhoun, and as profound as Webster. 

"In halls of state he stood for many years 
Like fabled knight, his visage all aglow, 
Receiving, giving sternly, blow for blow, 
Champion of right ! But from eternity's far shore 
Thy spirit will return to join the strife no more. 
Rest, citizen, statesman, rest ; thy troubled life is o'er." 

John Tyler Morgan was born in the little town of 
Athens, Tenn., June 20, 1824. He received an academic 
education chiefly in Alabama, to which State he was 
taken when 9 years old, and where he resided continu- 
ously until his death. He studied law, was admitted to 
the bar in 1845, on reaching his majority, and he prac- 
ticed his profession with much ability and great success 
until his election to the Senate. He was one of the great 
lawyers of the country — learned and eloquent, methodical 
and industrious, sagacious and sincere, honest and true, 
safe and successful. 

He was commissioned in 1862 as a colonel and raised 
the Fifty-first Alabama regiment; was appointed briga- 
dier-general in 1863, and was assigned to a brigade in 
Virginia, and subsequently resigned to join his regiment, 
whose colonel had been killed in battle. Later, in 1863, 
"he was appointed again a brigadier general and assigned 
to the Alabama brigade, which included his own regi- 
ment. 

After the war he resumed the active practice of his 
profession, was a Presidential elector in 1876, and voted 
for Tilden and Hendricks. He was always a Demo- 
crat of the old school, and ever took a deep interest in 
public affairs. He was elected to the United States 
Senate to succeed George Goldthwaite, took his seat 
March 5, 1877, an d continued to represent his State in 
that Chamber of Congress until his death, having been 



216 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



elected for six full terms, and I believe in all our history 
there are less than half a dozen men who have been 
elected to the United States >nate for six full terms in 
succession. He died in the Capital of his country in the 
fourth month of his thirty-first year of continuous Sen- 
atorial service, with a world-wide reputation, full of 
honors, in the zenith of his fame, and with the respect 
and the love of all the people of all the land. 

For years General Morgan was a commanding figure 
in the Senate, i conspicuous legislator, a shining mark, 
a sturdy plodder, an eloquent debater, and his work in 
Congress has left a deep and lasting impress on the af- 
fairs of men and on the statute books of his time. He 
was a man of great energy, of unwearied industry, of un- 
swerving devotion to principle, of eternal fidelity to 
friends, and he had the faculty to sound the depths of 
every proposition that came within the confines of his 
consideration. He exhausted every subject within the 
range of his grasp. He was a man of the highest ideals, 
of the noblest impulses, of the clearest conception of the 
amenities of human life, and he stood for the best tra- 
ditions of the Senate and represented in his personage 
the highest type of an American citizen. 

He was a faithful public servant, and the great work 
he did for all the people will live as long as the Republic 
shall endure. He gave to his country the best and ripest 
years of his life, and his country will never be ungrate- 
ful to his memory or forgetful of his long and illustrious 
service. The country mourns its loss. 

"But weep not for him ! 
Not for him who, departing, leaves millions in tears ! 
Not for him who has died full of honor and years ! 
Not for him who ascended Fame's ladder so high ; 
From the round at the top he has stepped to the sky." 

It was my good fortune, Mr. Speaker, to have known 
Senator Morgan well. He was my friend and I was his 
friend. For more than a dozen years we worked to- 
gether in Congress, and I had frequent occasion to con- 
sult with him and to get his advice regarding matters 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 217 



of much public moment. He was a most approachable 
man, kind and patient and considerate, and he took a 
great interest in the welfare of younger men. He was 
always glad to help those that needed help. He had a 
sunshiny, genial disposition ; a quaint sense of humor ; 
he dearly loved a good story, and yet he was one of the 
most learned, one of the most erudite,, one of the most 
eloquent, and one of the gravest men it has ever been 
my good fortune to know. In every sense of the word he 
was a great man and a true man and an honest man, 
and he believed in his fellow-man. He looked on the 
bright side of life. He knew the world was growing 
better; he was optimistic. There was nothing of the 
skeptic or the cynic in his make-up. He never lost faith 
in humanity. 

He was a lover of liberty, a friend of freedom, a be- 
liever in the supremacy of the law, and one of the great- 
est constitutional lawyers this country has ever pro- 
duced. He believed in the greatness and the glory and 
the grander destiny of the Republic and stood for that 
great cardinal principle of Jefferson, "Equal rights to 
all, special privileges to none." He had no use for the 
trickster, the trimmer, and the trader. He was a great 
constructive statesman — a creator of statute law. He 
hated cant, spurned pretense, and despised hypocrisy. He 
was a simple man and a great Democrat. He was an in- 
defatigable worker — he did things — things that will live, 
things that are now history. He was a fearless man and 
dared to do what he thought was right, regardless of 
consequences. He was a faithful public official and he 
died in the service of his country — ripe in years and 
crowned with glory. His work is done. His career is 
finished. He has reaped his everlasting reward in the 
great beyond. Grand old man of Alabama, hail and 
farewell ! 



SPEECH IN FAVOR OF PUBLICITY OF CAM- 
PAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS. 



In Congress May 18, 1908. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, it is fitting, I believe, for me to say 
that I concur substantially in the timely remarks of the 
gentleman from Missouri (Mr. Rucker) regarding the 
failure of the Republicans in this House to call up and 
pass the campaign contribution publicity bill, which is 
now on the Calendar and can be called up and passed 
and made a law before this session adjourns. If we do 
not pass it now, it will be too late to make it effective for 
the campaigns of 1908. 

In my opinion this publicity campaign contribution 
bill is one of the most important measures before this 
House. It is a bill for honest elections, to more effec- 
tually safeguard the elective franchise, and it affects the 
entire people of this country. It concerns the honor of 
the country. The honest people of the land want it 
passed. All parties should favor it. Recent investiga- 
tions conclusively demonstrate how important to all the 
people of the country is the speedy enactment of this 
bill for the publication before elections of campaign- 
contributions. 

I have been for years a consistent advocate of this 
legislation. I have done all in my power to get a favor- 
able report from the committee,, and I shall do all I can 
to enact the bill into law. Many people believe that if a 
law were on the statute books similar to the provisions of 
this bill, the Republicans would not have been successful 
in the election of 1896. The Republicans succeeded that 
year because they raised the largest corruption fund in 
all our history. 

218 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 219 



In every national contest of recent years the campaign 
has been a disgraceful scramble to see which party could 
raise the most money, not for legitimate expenses, but to 
carry on a system of political iniquity that will not and 
can not bear the light of publicity. Political corruption 
dreads the sun of publicity and works in secret and in 
darkness. Pass a p-ublicity law along the lines of this 
bill and I predict that in future national campaigns there 
will be no criminations and recriminations such as dis- 
graced the closing days of the last Presidential contest. 

Napoleon said victory was on the side of the heaviest 
guns. There are many thoughtful people in this country 
who have been saying ever since 1896 that political vic- 
tory in our Presidential contests is on the side of the 
campaign committee which can raise the largest boodle 
fund. 

Mr. Speaker, in connection with this national pub- 
licity bill it is interesting to consider the amounts of 
money contributed and expended in Presidential cam- 
paigns in the past by the campaign committees of the 
two great parties. Prior to i860, so far as I have been 
able to ascertain — and I have given the matter very care- 
ful investigation — no national committee in any Presiden- 
tial contest expended much more than $25,000, except, 
perhaps, in the campaign of 1832, when Jackson tri- 
umphed over the corruption fund of the Bank of the 
United States. But that is now ancient history, and has 
very little to do with the present-day practices of na- 
tional committees, and I will not spend further time in 
discussing it. 

However, I want to read to the House a statement 
which has been carefully compiled by very competent and 
experienced men, showing the expenditures of the Re- 
publican and Democratic national committees in every 
Presidential contest from i860 to 1904. Of course I do 
not declare that the statement of expenditures which I 
am about to read is absolutely accurate, but I do say — 
and a careful investigation, in my opinion, will substan- 
tiate it — that these expenditures are approximately cor- 
rect. 



22o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Year. 


Republican candi- 
date. 


Democratic candi- 
date. 


Expended' 
by Repub- 
lican na- 
tional 
committee . 


Expended 
by Demo- 
cratic na- 
tional 
committee . 


i860. . . 
1864 


Abraham Lincoln 

. . . .do 


Stephen A. Douglass . . . 
Geo. B. McClellan 


$100,000 
125,000 
150,000 
250,000 
950,000 
1,100,000 
1,300,000 
1,350,000 
1,850,000 
16,500,000 
9,500,000 
3,500,000 


$50,000 
50,000 
75,000 
50,000 
900,000 
355,000 
1,400,000 
855,000 
2,350,000 
675,000 
425,000 
1,250,000 


1868. . . 
1872. , . 


U. S. Grant 

. . . .do 


Horace Greeley 


1876. . . 
1880. . . 
1884. . . 
188S. 
1892 


Rutherford B. Hayes. . . 

James A. Garfield 

James G. Blaine 

Benjamin Harrison 

....do .*..*; 


Samuel J. Tilden 

W. S. Hancock 

do 
'.V.'.do'.. 


1896. . . 
1900 




William J. Bryan 

. . . .do 


1904. . . 


TheodoreJR.oosevelt .... 


Alton B . Parker 



Now, Mr. Speaker, as I said, perhaps these figures 
may not be absolutely accurate, and perhaps there is no 
way now by which they can be substantiated by legal 
proof, but they have been carefully compiled from the 
best obtainable sources, and I doubt not they will be 
extremely interesting to students of political events who 
desire to make careful investigation and comparison of 
campaign contributions. 

These national campaign funds reveal a condition of 
affairs concerning our recent Presidential elections which, 
to every right-thinking citizen, should be sufficient rea- 
son for the enactment into law of the bill I am discuss- 
ing ; and this measure especially appeals to those patriotic 
people of our country who see grave dangers to the Re- 
public in the growing evils incident to these large cam- 
paign funds, and who believe that they are contributed 
in most instances by protected industries solely for the 
purpose of debauching the electorate and defeating the 
will of the honest people of the country. 

This important bill for publicity of campaign contri- 
butions is a nonpartisan measure. There should be no 
politics in it. We should all advocate it from patriotic 
motives; but some of the gentlemen on the other side 
are now playing politics with it, are injecting party poli- 
tics into it, and are doing everything in their power to 
prevent the Members of this House w T ho sincerely favor 
the bill from having an opportunity to vote for it. I do 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



not hesitate to say that if this bill were presented to 
the membership of this House on its merits it would pass 
by an overwhelming majority. I would like to hear from 
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. McCall), who 
introduced the bill. I wish to hear his honest opinion of 
the thimble-rigging which has been resorted to regarding 
the bill ever since this session began. 

It is a shame the way this bill is being strangled to 
death. We Democrats favor it. We will vote for it if 
you Republicans will give us a chance. We challenge 
the Republican leaders in this House to do so. I want 
some Republican to give us a reason why this bill is not 
called up, considered, and passed. Is the Speaker against 
it? If the Speaker is the man against it, let us know it 
and we will hold the Speaker responsible. Is the chair- 
man of the Committee on Ways and Means opposed to 
it? Let us know, and we will hold him responsible. Is 
the Committee on Rules responsible for holding up this 
very important bill? If so, let us know and we will hold 
that committee responsible. Let us fix the responsibility. 

Mr. Gaines of Tennessee : Will the gentleman from 
Xew York yield ? 

Mr. Sulzer : Yes ; for a question. 

Mr. Gaines of Tennessee : This same committee last 
year did not report the bill, and they did not report it 
this year. Could not the Speaker appoint a committee 
that would report it, if he wanted to? 

Mr. Sulzer : Oh, yes. I am trying to find out who is 
responsible for the defeat of this desirable legislation. I 
want to fix the responsibility, so that the people will be 
able to take action concerning it in the coming campaign. 
The Republicans here can pass it. They are in the ma- 
jority. We Democrats favor the bill. We will vote for 
it. If the bill is not acted upon, the Republicans of this 
House must bear the responsibility and take the conse- 
quences. 

Mr. Speaker, in my opinion this Congress will be 
recreant to its duty and false to the people of this coun- 
try if it does not take action in regard to this matter be- 
fore we adjourn. The passage of this publicity bill re- 
garding contributions to national campaign committees 



222 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



will be a great victory for the plain people of the land, 
and will go as far, in my judgment, as anything that can 
be devised at the present time by the ingenuity of the 
human mind to effectually put a stop to political iniquity 
in Congressional and Presidential campaigns. These 
great political contributions made to the national com- 
mittees of both parties by the vested interests, and the 
protected industries of the country, are not voluntary 
contributions, but are levied like taxes, and are gen- 
erally made with the understanding, express or implied, 
that the contributors shall be protected against the rights 
of the people, and shall be secure in robbing the many 
for the benefit of the few, and shall have meted out to 
them by the party in power certain special privileges 
which are repugnant to our free institutions and con- 
trary to the fundamental principles of the Democratic 
party. 



REGARDING WM. R. SMITH, THE SUPERIN- 
TENDENT OF THE BOTANIC GARDEN, 
WASHINGTON, D. C 

Speech in Congress, March 25, 1908. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : But, sir, the question now is, Where 
should this Grant memorial be located? The commis- 
sion delegated to locate the site for the monument se- 
lected, in the first instance, a site in the Ellipse imme- 
diately in front of the White House — between the White 
House and the Washington Monument. That site, in 
my judgment, was a very proper location and in all re- 
spects most suitable. Afterward, for some reason or 
other, the commission abandoned that site and selected 
the Botanic Garden as the proper place. In my opinion, 
that change w T as most unwise and the gravest kind of a 
mistake. The Botanic Garden for a great many years 
has been one of the historic landmarks of the District of 
Columbia, and under the guiding genius of its eminent 
director, William R. Smith, it has been useful, as well 
as ornamental. Thousands and thousands of people 
coming to this city every year visit the Botanic Garden 
and enjoy its many beauties. It is one of the pleasure 
resorts of Washington especially to every man, woman, 
and child who loves flowers and trees and plants and 
shrubs. 

It is a monument to the energy of Mr. Smith, and no 
part of it should be desecrated or destroyed. For years 
trees have been planted in this garden by the most dis- 
tinguished citizens of our country, and by eminent citi- 
zens of other countries, so that to-day it is one of the 
most interesting and beautiful places for visitors in all 
the city of Washington. Every spot in it is reminiscent 

223 



224 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



and historical. No part of it should be injured or de- 
stroyed, and it is the most unsuitable place that could 
be selected for a great monument to a military hero. 

The place selected in the Botanic Garden by the Com- 
mission for this Grant Memorial is near the street to- 
ward this end. Already excavations have begun and the 
work of destruction will go on unless we stop it. Anyone 
who will take the time to visit the Botanic Garden wi'll 
see at a glance how inappropriate the place is for a me- 
morial, and how its erection there will necessitate the 
lasting injury and destruction of a large number of valu- 
able and beautiful and historic trees — especially one 
great beautiful tree planted by John J. Crittenden, of 
Kentucky, in 1862, from an acorn which he brought 
from that famous Commonwealth to commemorate his 
noble efforts in endeavoring to bring about peace and 
stop the deadly conflict between the North and the South. 

That tree is one of the most magnificent in all the 
garden, and is known as the "Crittenden peace tree." 
Its destruction now would be a shame — a piece of van- 
dalism. That little acorn, planted by the patriotic hand 
of Senator Crittenden, has grown into a great oak, one 
of the finest trees in the garden. That tree is an historic 
landmark and should be sacred from vandal hands. That 
little acorn — planted there in 1862— to commemorate an 
heroic effort for peace — is to-day the giant tree that ex- 
emplifies that peace in its fullest sense, and it would 
be a desecration — a lamentable desecration— to destroy it. 
If the monument goes up the tree must be cut down. It 
can not be saved by removal. According to the judg- 
ment of experts who have investigated the matter and 
who know the most about the subject, it is impossible 
to dig up so big and so old a tree and transplant it, or to 
dig up and transplant any of these other great and beau- 
tiful trees that must be destroyed to make way for the 
monument. If they are transplanted they will surely 
die. If the monument work goes ahead these historic 
trees will be lost. 

I am opposed to cutting down these famous trees and 
destroying one of the chief beauties of the Botanic 
Garden. It ought not to be done. Congress should 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 225 



stop it, and stop it at once. As I said, I do not believe 
this site is the best place in Washington for the Grant 
Monument. It is an out-of-the-way and an obscure 
place. If erected there, it can not be seen from the 
Avenue, and this magnificent Grant Memorial should 
be in a place with sufficient space around it so that it can 
be seen from all sides and from all directions. The 
selection of this site in the Botanic Garden is a mistake, 
and the Commission selecting it should be condemned by 
a resolution of Congress, and hereafter we should be 
more careful in appointing men on commissions to select 
sites for monuments in this city. 

The most suitable site in Washington for the Grant 
Memorial is the first site selected, in the ellipse between 
the White House and the Monument. That w r as General 
Grant's park. He laid it out, and spent much of his 
leisure there during the time he was in the White House. 
Beyond a doubt it is the most suitable and the most ap- 
propriate place in Washington for this monument, and 
the Congress should see to it that it is erected there and 
kept out of the Botanic Garden. 

Now, I want to say that I am in sympathy with those 
who desire to make Washington the "City Beautiful. " I 
believe it is such to-day, and destined to grow more so as 
the years come and go. Every citizen in the land should 
t)e interested in making the capital of his country the 
most beautiful city in the world ; but we can never do it 
with commissions composed of men such as we have ap- 
pointed heretofore. In the future we should select men 
who know something about art and trees and perspective, 
and less about law and science and statistics. 

I am a friend of William R. Smith, the Director of the 
Botanic Garden— a truly great man; a man who has 
<ione a great work for all the people, a world-wide work 
for this country ; a man who has done more in two gen- 
erations than any other man in all this land to foster and 
inculcate the love of the beautiful, the love of art, the 
love of trees and shrubs and plants and flowers ; a man 
who has studied the soil, who has made its arid wastes 
blossom like a rose, who has cultivated and propagated 
in the Botanic Garden all kinds of plant life and distrib- 



226 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



uted them to all parts of the country, to grow and blos- 
som and thrive ; a man who has made two blades of grass 
grow where one grew before; a great botanist, a great 
scientist, a great horticulturist, a great landscape 
gardener, a lover of the beautiful in nature; a man who 
long ago, before Burbank or any other man in this coun- 
try, experimented with the possibilities of our soil in dif- 
ferent parts of the country in order to find out for what 
it was best adapted and what it would best produce, and, 
finding it out, worked wonders in every section of this 
country. I am a friend of this great Scotchman, and I 
say, and I think we should give heed to his protest against 
this desecration of the Botanic Garden that he loves so 
much, that has been in his charge for so many years, 
and through the agency of which he has done so much to 
beautify this city and render such inestimable service 
to every part of the country. 

We should listen to his protest and save the trees. 
They can never be transplanted. They can never grow 
again. Cut them down now and they are gone forever,, 
with all their wealth of beauty and of historical mem- 
ories. 

William R. Smith loves these grand old trees. Let us 
save them. Let us give heed to his protest and stop the 
desecration of the Bontanic Garden ere it is too late by 
taking immediate action to prevent the destruction of its 
trees and finding a more suitable place and a more ap- 
propriate site for the Grant Memorial. 



SPEECH FOR THE ALASKA- YUKON-PACIFIC 
EXPOSITION. 



In Congress, May 20, 1908. 
Mr, Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I want to take advantage of this op- 
portunity to speak in favor of the Senate amend- 
ment in the pending sundry civil bill, making an ap- 
propriation of $700,000 for the Alaska- Yukon-Pacific 
Exposition, to be held in Seattle in 1909, and to urge the 
House conferees to agree to the same when the bill goes 
back to conference. The committee of the House has 
reported favorably a similar measure, which is now on 
the Calendar. I believe the House is overwhelmingly 
in favor of this appropriation for this desirable exposi- 
tion and would vote in favor of the Senate amendment 
by more than three to one if an opportunity were now 
offered. It is a worthy project, and commands our ear- 
nest support and commendation. 

This Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition, Mr. Speaker, 
will exhibit not merely the w r onderful resources of the 
States of the Pacific slope, but also the material resources 
of Alaska, the Yukon territory, British Columbia, the 
Philippines, and Hawaii. Its object is to demonstrate 
the progress and the development and the resources of 
the entire region of the Pacific and to forecast its mighty 
future possibilities. It means much to us all. The 
Alaska- Yukon-Pacific Exposition is peculiar among en- 
terprises of this character, because it will comprehend 
not only the resources of the Pacific possessions of this 
country, but also the Canadian territory of British Co- 
lumbia and the far-famed Yukon, thus affording the 
unusual spectacle of two countries under different flags 
joining forces and uniting in interest in one great ex- 
position. 



228 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



The Yukon territory and British Columbia, under the 
Dominion of Canada, are to be as much a part of this 
exhibition as Alaska, Hawaii, and the Philippines, under 
our own Government, and it is destined to be an exposi- 
tion expressive of harmony and of good will and of 
international comity, and speaking much for the con- 
tinuance of the amicable relations between us and our 
English-speaking neighbors. It is estimated that 10,- 
000,000 people now live within a radius of 1,000 miles of 
the section of our country and Canada where this exhi- 
bition is to be held, all of whom are directly interested 
in this exposition and welcome an opportunity to show 
the material resources and the wealth and the develop- 
ment of their respective sections. 

Mr. Speaker, the people of the Pacific and the Great 
Northwest take a deep interest in this exposition. They 
intend to make it a success. They are determined to 
demonstrate the progress they are making in all that 
tends to the advancement of humanity. They ask the 
Government for no help. They want no gift. They ap- 
peal for no loan. All they ask is that the Government 
recognize the importance of this exposition, lend its 
official indorsement to it, take part in it, build its own 
buildings, and make its own exhibits, and do so at its 
own expense. The States and the Territories are doing 
their part. They are all doing what is right. Why 
should the Government, so deeply interested, lag behind ? 
The Government has aided financially and participated in 
every exposition of a national character ever held in this 
country. No Government aid is asked for this exposi- 
tion — not a dollar is asked for, directly or indirectly- 
only suitable participation. The exposition is in the in- 
terest of all the people. 

It will materially benefit all the people. Then why 
should the Government refuse to take part in this mag- 
nificent display of the natural resources of our great 
Northwest and wonderful Pacific possessions? I can 
not believe that we shall be so blind to our own best in- 
terests as to permit this appropriation to fail. Congress 
should lend a friendly hand to the enterprising and 
progressive people on our Pacific borders. They are 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 229 



entitled to it. They are doing a great work that benefits 
all the people of our country. They have already secured 
beautiful and suitable grounds for the exposition. It is 
to be held on the campus of the State University at Se- 
attle. Four hundred and thirty-two thousand dollars 
have already been expended in the improvement of the 
grounds and in the construction of buildings, and many 
of the structures are already well toward completion; 
and the exposition will bring to the attention of the 
world the great commercial resources and possibilities 
of the countries bordering the Pacific and strengthen the 
friendly and trade relations of the nations on this ocean. 
As I have already said, the great Yukon territory is to 
be a part of this exposition. Thus, two nations under 
two flags will unite in one exposition, something never 
before known in our day. This exposition will not only 
tend to strengthen national comity with our English- 
speaking neighbors on the north, but it will tend to pro- 
mote harmony and good w r ill with all nations of the Pa- 
cific, and especially with the countries of the Orient. 

Mr. Speaker, I am a friend of these expositions. All 
things considered, they cost little and do much good. It 
is money wisely expended. It benefits all. These ex- 
positions are milestones marking great epochs in our 
onward progress. They diffuse knowledge, educate the 
people, and exhibit the wonderful resources of our coun- 
try and the constructive genius of our people. They 
mean ocular demonstration; they are great object les- 
sons; they are historical and educational and industrial 
and mechanical and commercial; they mean progress 
and advancement and enlightenment. They emphasize 
our greatness and our grandeur and our glory. They 
illustrate our marvelous progress in every line of human 
effort, and they demonstrate the giant strides the race is 
making in every avenue of industry. 



IN FAVOR OF AN INCOME TAX. 



Speech of Mr. Sulzer in Congress, July n, 1909. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: I am now, always have been, and al- 
ways will be in favor of an income tax, because, in my 
opinion, an income tax is the fairest, the most just, the 
most honest, the most democratic, and the most equitable 
tax ever devised by the genius of statesmanship. Ever 
since I came to Congress the record will show that I 
have been the constant advocate of an income tax along 
constitutional lines. And so to-day I reiterate that 
through it only, and by its agency alone, will it ever be 
possible for the Government to be able to make idle 
wealth pay its just share of the ever-increasing burdens 
of Government. 

At the present time nearly all the taxes raised for the 
support of the Government are levied on consumption— 
on what the people need to eat and to wear and to live; 
on the necessaries of life; and the consequence is that 
the poor man, indirectly, but surely in the end, pays prac- 
tically as much to support the Government as the rich 
man — regardless of the difference of incomes. This 
system of tariff tax on consumption, by which the con- 
sumers are saddled with nearly all the burdens of Gov- 
ernment, is an unjust system of taxation, and the only 
way to remedy the injustice and destroy the inequality 
is by an income tax that will make idle wealth as well 
as honest toil pay its just share of the taxes needed to 
administer the National Government. Hence I shall 
vote for the pending resolution or any proposition that, 
in my judgment, will make an income tax in this country 
possible and constitutional, however remote that pos- 
sibility may be. 

230 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 231 

Let me say that every great thinker, every honest 
jurist, and every great writer on political economy, from 
the days of Aristotle down to the present time, has ad- 
vocated and justified the imposition of an income tax 
for the support of government as the most honest and 
the most expeditious and the most equitable principle 
of taxation that can be devised. It must come in this 
country. It should have been adopted long ago. Al- 
most every great government on earth secures a large 
part of its revenue from an income tax, and we must do 
the same. We are far behind the governments of Europe 
in this respect — far behind enlightened public opinion. 



SULZER'S LETTER TO GOVERNOR HUGHES, 
DECEMBER 15, 1909, URGING REFORM 
LEGISLATION. 



"House of Representatives, 
''Washington, D. C, December 15, 1909. 

"Hon. Charles E. Hughes, Albany, X. Y. 

"My Dear Governor: I write you this letter to in- 
dulge the hope that you will recommend in your forth- 
coming annual message to the Legislature the following 
matters in which the people of New York State take a 
deep and an abiding interest : 

"First — Ballot reform by simplifying the ballot along 
the lines of the Massachusetts ballot laws. The ballot 
complications in the recent municipal election of New 
York City demonstrate the necessity for this change be- 
yond any question. 

"Second — Legislation in favor of direct primaries. In 
your several public addresses you have taken strong 
ground in favor of this reform. I sincerely trust your 
next message will be as positive regarding it. 

"Third — In favor of the ratification of the Income 
Tax Amendment to the Federal Constitution — so that 
wealth as well as work shall bear its just share of the 
burdens of government. 

"I believe there are no measures that the next Legisla- 
ture can consider that will be of greater advantage to 
the people than these propositions ; and I earnestly hope 
they will meet with approval and be adopted. 

"In my own way I am doing all I can for their ac- 
complishment, and in the future, as in the past I shall do 
my part to write, this desirable legislation upon the statute 
books of our State. Very respectfully yours, 

"William Sulzer." 



232 



PURCHASE OF EMBASSY AND CONSULAR 
BUILDINGS ABROAD. 

Mr. Sulzer's Speech in Congress, February 7, 191 1. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: For many years I have been in favor 
of this Government acquiring and owning diplomatic and 
consular establishments for its representatives in the 
principal countries of the world. This bill is a step in 
that direction and meets with my earnest approval. 

What the United States requires, in my opinion, in the 
great capitals of the world, are official residences, which 
shall be permanent homes for its diplomatic and consular 
representatives, whether they be rich or poor, in which 
they shall reside in a position consistent with democratic 
institutions. I believe the taxpayers of the country favor 
it because it will mean the maintenance of the dignity of 
our people and the enhancement of the prestige of the 
Republic. Such a policy will produce an external uni- 
formity in the outward semblance of each and conceal 
the difference between the rich diplomat and the poor, 
yet, perhaps, far abler scholar and statesman. The price 
of a modern battleship would provide proper homes for 
most of our ministers and ambassadors abroad and give 
these official residences the dignity that it associated 
with permanency. 

The diplomatic representatives of our country in for- 
eign capitals should reside in suitable homes, owned 
and furnished in a proper manner by our Government, 
and be paid a salary sufficient to enable them to live in 
a way befitting the greatness and the glory of the United 
States. We are a world power of the first magnitude, 
and we should live up to it in the diplomatic family of 
nations. I believe in economy. I like democratic sim- 



234 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

plicity; but I have traveled some, and, like others who 
have been in foreign lands, I know what a sorry figure 
we generally cut in diplomatic circles. If we want to 
be abreast of the political and commercial spirit of the 
times we must yield to modern progress in these impor- 
tant matters of the world and lay aside the ultraconser- 
vatism of the past and the rigid simplicity of bygone 
days. 

If Congress is unable to understand the exceedingly 
mean figure that is cut by the United States in foreign 
capitals when its diplomatic representatives are obliged 
to spend their yearly salaries in providing themselves 
with a roof over their official heads, then the case is 
hopeless. If our ambassador is an object of derision, if 
the United States is the subject of contemptuous remarks 
by all the little whippersnappers of diplomacy who have 
been better provided for, the fault lies in the Congress 
of this great country. Rich and powerful as we are as a 
Nation, we belittle our own dignity and that of our 
representatives in foreign lands by refusing to establish 
permanent homes for them where the Stars and Stripes 
may ever fly. 

Sir, how can we expect our diplomats abroad to be 
treated with the same respect as those of other countries 
when the very houses in which they live invite invidious 
comparisons? It is just as important for the envoys 
representing our people to be housed in a manner be- 
fitting the wealth and power of our country as it is for 
the President of the United States to live in the White 
House ; and the saddest commentary on it all is the 
knowledge that men of ability, men of experience, but 
lacking riches, in view of present conditions, can not 
hope to represent this country in foreign lands. It would 
be more becoming to our pretensions of democratic sim- 
plicity, in my judgment, if Congress should now place 
our Diplomatic Service on a basis where brains and not 
dollars alone will be the essentials for diplomatic office 
in foreign countries. 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH ON THE APPORTION- 
MENT OF REPRESENTATIVES IN CONGRESS. 

{In Congress, February 9, 191 1.) 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker : As a believer in representative govern- 
ment I shall vote to give the people more representation 
in the Congress of the United States — the greatest par- 
liamentary body in all the civilized world. My answer 
to the critics of representative government is more repre- 
sentative government. My reply to the foes of democ- 
racy is more democracy. Hence I shall vote against the 
bill limiting the membership in the House of Represen- 
tatives to 391, and in favor of the bill to increase the 
membership to 433, duly apportioned among the States 
in accordance with population. 

This is a government of the people, and the House 
of Representatives should be close to the people and 
responsive to their will. With a membership of 433 it 
will not be too large. Great Britain has 670 members 
in the House of Commons, with a population of about 
40,000,000; Austria has 516 members in the lower house, 
with a population of about 26,000,000; France has 584 
members in the Chamber of Deputies, with a population 
of about 39,000,000; Germany has 397 members in the 
Reichstag, with a population of about 50,000,000. It 
will be seen, therefore, that in the densely populated 
countries of Europe, where representatives have less 
difficulty in ascertaining local, industrial, social, and po- 
litical conditions, the ratio of population is much smaller 
than it is in the United States. 

The bill I advocate fixes the membership of the House 
from and after the 3d day of March, 1913, at 433, and 
provides that if any new State shall be admitted into the 

235 



236 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Union the Representative or Representatives assigned to 
such State shall be in addition to that number. The 
ratio of population to Representatives is fixed at 211,877. 
The ratio under the apportionment act following the 
Twelfth Census was 194,182, so that the average district 
under the bill I am discussing will contain 17,695 more 
inhabitants than were contained in the average congres- 
sional district under the act of 1901. 

There has been an increase in the membership of the 
House of Representatives under every census but one 
since the organization of the Government. Then the 
Senate controlled the matter for the first and only time. 
That apportionment following the Sixth Census, in 1840, 
reduced the membership 17, but this w r as, as I said, ac- 
complished by the Senate. The increase has not been 
in proportion to the population, but has been an average 
of about 50 per cent, thereof. 

I want to restore to the people the right now delegated 
to the legislatures by the framers of the Constitution, so 
that the Senators as well as Members of Congress shall 
be elected directly by the people, and the Government 
thus become more and more a representative democracy, 
where brains, fitness, honesty, ability, experience, and 
capacity, and not wealth and subserviency, shall be the 
true qualifications for both branches of the Federal Leg- 
islature. 

The people all over this country now demand this 
much-needed change in the Federal Constitution, so that 
they can vote directly for Senators in Congress, and they 
appeal to us to enact a law to give them that right. It 
is not a partisan question, neither is it a sectional issue. 
The demand reaches us from all parts of the land and 
from men in all political parties w 7 ith a degree of unani- 
mity that is quite surprising. It is our duty to respect 
the washes of the people and to give them a uniform law 
allowing them to vote for Senators in Congress just the 
same as they now vote for Representatives in Congress. 

Mr. Speaker, ever since I have been a Member of this 
House — for nearly 16 years — I have advocated and 
worked faithfully to bring about the election of Senators 
in Congress by the direct vote of the people. In every 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 237 



Congress in which I have served I have introduced a 
joint resolution to amend the Constitution to enact into 
law this most desirable reform, and the record will show 
that I have done everything in my power, in Congress 
and out of Congress, to secure its accomplishment. 

Without any vanity I can justly say that I am the 
author of this reform. On several occasions my resolu- 
tion has passed the House, only to fail in the Senate, be- 
cause the Senate would never allow the question to come 
to a vote. However, it is just as sure to be written into 
our Constitution, sooner or later, as the sun is to rise 
to-morrow. 

The right to elect United States Senators by a direct 
vote of the people is a step in advance and in the right 
direction. I hope it will speedily be brought about. It 
is the right kind of reform, and I hope it will be suc- 
ceeded by others, until this Government becomes indeed 
the greatest and the best and the freest Government the 
world has ever seen. 



LIBRARIES FOR THE PEOPLE. PRAISE FOR 
ANDREW CARNEGIE. 



{From Speech in Congress, March 29, 1910.) 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: The necessity for public libraries is 
acknowledged. They supplement the school system and 
are a factor in popular education. When it is consid- 
ered that only a small percentage of the population con- 
tinues in school after the compulsory period has been 
reached, it is easy to see what a free circulating library 
may do to help men and women to continue their educa- 
tion by reading: to study along the lines of trade or busi- 
ness : to improve their mind : and increase their earning 
capacity by a greater knowledge of matters of moment. 

I am in favor of public libraries. They do a great 
deal of good. Their establishment should be encouraged. 
They help the parents and the children. They will aid 
the men and the women who want to improve themselves 
by reading and studying along the various lines of their 
endeavors. I know of no agency in America save our 
public schools that is doing so much good for our cit- 
izens:::; : so much for the general weal: and so much for 
the perpetuity of our free institutions as the public libra- 
ries. Their facility for education is the greatest bless- 
ing vouchsafed to America and the surest guaranty for 
the safety of our freedom. 

Instead of being criticised Andrew Carnegie should 
nended for all that he has done and is doing for 
the public libraries of America. 

We ought to favor whenever and wherever we can the 
building and the maintenance of these libraries for all 
the people, where everv bov and everv girl and every 

238 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 239 



man and every woman can go, get a book, and study. 
There is no way in which so much good can be accom- 
plished, no way in which the people of the country can 
be benefited so much; no way in which to induce a de- 
sire to study and a love for great books ; and to maintain 
a proper respect for the sanctity of home and for law 
and order among the people as through the good books 
the people get and read from these public libraries. 

I think their establishment by law is wise legislation ; 
the money for their maintenance well expended ; and all 
for the benefit of the masses, and destined beyond doubt 
to promote the general welfare. All honor and all praise 
to Andrew Carnegie; and prosperity to the public 
libraries he is establishing in America. 



OUR LIFE SAVERS. 



There Are No Braver Men in the Government Ser- 
vice Than Our Heroic Life-Savers. 

Speech of Mr. Sulzer, in the House of Representatives, 
January 13, 191 1. 

Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, I believe the overwhelming sentiment of 
the country is in favor of legislation to retire on a pen- 
sion, when old and deserving, men in our Life-Saving 
Service. 

The record will show the lives and the property which 
have been saved during the past twenty years by the 
Life-Saving Service. These brave men have saved hun- 
dreds of lives and millions and millions of dollars' worth 
of property. If any class of men in the public employ 
deserve favorable consideration, the life-savers do, and 
for one I can not allow this opportunity to pass without 
taking issue with the gentleman from Illinois and again 
voicing my regret that through his agency the commit- 
tee of which he is the chairman has refused to report the 
bill for these worthy people. 

The Life-Saving Service of the United States is not 
an expensive service. It pays for itself a thousandfold 
every year. The figures in the Treasury Department will 
demonstrate the accuracy of that statement. 

The pay of the men in the Life-Saving Service is very 
meager. Only a small proportion of the surfmen can 
ever reach a keepership with a salary of $1,000 per 
annum, and the number of district superintendents is so 
small that a surfman's prospects of attaining to this 
grade are negligible. The only increase of pay provided 
by existing law in the grade of surfman, above which a 

240 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 241 



vast majority of the men, however well qualified, can 
never hope to rise, is the extra $5 per month paid to the 
No. 1 man in each crew, and even this must be inevitably 
surrendered as old age approaches to younger and more 
active men. Obviously, the outlook for a man of ma- 
ture years, who considers the service from the standpoint 
of a life profession, is not such as to encourage the en- 
listment of energetic and ambitious men. 

The life-saver's course of life is very similar to that of 
the soldier and naval sailor. He is enlisted for a specified 
term of service after a rigid physical examination, to 
which is added a professional one not required of the 
soldier and sailor, is subject to rigid discipline, to con- 
stant guard duty, the performance of daily drills, and, 
when occasion requires, to do battle. The nightly patrol 
of the life-saver, however, involving long, difficult, and 
wearisome marches in all conditions of weather, is one of 
especial hardship and exposure, which finds no parallel 
in the corresponding duty of the soldier and sailor. 

In my opinion, the men engaged in the Life-Saving 
Service are employed in an especially hazardous under- 
taking. It is the most strictly nonpartisan service under 
the Government, being definitely removed from the field 
of political patronage, and the duties of its employees are 
of an unusually arduous and dangerous nature. The 
risk of death, injury, and disease incurred by the life- 
saver is not less than that of the soldier or naval sailor. 
If his service is less dangerous in time of war, it is much 
more so in time of peace, which is the generally prevail- 
ing condition, that has been interrupted but four times 
in our national history. Extra hazard, therefore, is in- 
curred by the soldier and naval sailor only at intervals of 
many years, while the perils of the life-saver run through 
the entire period of peace as well as war. Every en- 
listment of the life-saver is entered w r ith the certainty 
of exposure to extraordinary danger, while the vast ma- 
jority of those who enlist in the Army or Navy do so 
with scarcely a prospect of incurring the dangers of war. 

The men in the Life-Saving Service spend the bes: 
years of their manhood working to save life and prop- 
erty and only receive a mere pittance for the duties they 



242 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



perform. Their pay is inadequate. They should receive 
more compensation. They can not possibly save any- 
thing. I suppose nearly all of them have families. They 
must feed, clothe, and educate their children. With the 
high cost of living, they can not save anything for old 
age out of the very small pay they now receive. 

What are we going to do with these deserving men 
when they become 60 or 70 years of age? Are we going 
to turn them out on a cold world to the mercy of 
charity? It is inhuman and disgraceful for Congress to 
take that unjust position. We should provide for these 
brave men in their old age. We should hold out to them 
the hope that if they are courageous and faithful in the 
performance of their even* duty, if they are willing upon 
occasion to hazard their lives, that thev shall be pro- 
vided for in their sere and yellow leaf. That is the 
manly position for the representatives of this Govern- 
ment to take in regard to the men in the Life-Saving 
Service. 



'ABRAHAM LINCOLN— THE MAN." 



{From Speech in Congress, February 12, 1907.) 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker: In the words of John Stuart Mill, 
"Abraham Lincoln was the kind of a man Carlyle in his 
better days taught us to worship as a hero." And as 
the years come and go he will be worshiped more and 
more in every land and in every clime, from the Occi- 
dent to the Orient — throughout the world — by the friends 
of human liberty. 

He was one of the purest patriots, one of the wisest 
statesmen, and one of the greatest men that ever lived. 
He loved liberty, believed in the people, and battled for 
the rights of man. He was the friend of the masses and 
the champion of the oppressed. He loved truth and jus- 
tice. He believed in civil and religious liberty ; he advo- 
cated not only the freedom of man, but the freedom of 
conscience, the freedom of speech, and the freedom of 
the press. He could not tolerate class, or caste, or special 
privilege. He was the myriad-minded man of his day. 
He had few prejudices and no bigotry. All the preju- 
dices he had w T ere against the evils of his time — against 
the pride, the arrogance, and the intoleration of his fel- 
lowman. He knew the right, and he was great enough 
and brave enough to dare maintain it. 

Abraham Lincoln stood for the freedom of man like 
the Rock of Ages in a tempestuous sea. He never fal- 
tered, he never lost hope, he never wavered, he never 
deserted a principle. 

He searched for the truth, and, knowing the truth, he 
had the courage and the manhood, without fear or favor, 
to promulgate it to all the world. He did as much for 
human liberty as any man who ever lived. 



243 



244 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



In the retrospect — as the years come and go — this 
wonderful man, whose mind had a thousand eyes and 
whose heart had a thousand thoughts, grows greater and 
grander. 

As the centuries fade away the immortal figure of 
Abraham Lincoln will loom larger and larger on the 
horizon of human destiny — a great beacon light in the 
progress of civilization. 

The history of his life, of his joys and sorrows, his 
hopes and discouragements, from the little log cabin in 
Kentucky, where he was born, to the Presidential chair, 
reads like a romance and could not have occurred in any 
other country than our own, where the humblest boy 
can rise step by step on the political ladder to the White 
House. The story of the life of Lincoln, of his trials 
and his triumphs, is the bright star of hope for the 
youth of our land and the inspiration of all America. 

Lincoln was a deep thinker, a profound reasoner, a 
great lawyer, and one of the greatest political philos- 
ophers that ever lived; and during his Presidential ca- 
reer, in the darkest hours of our country's history, he 
was the guiding genius of the Union. 

Lincoln died in the prime of his life, at the summit 
of his career, in the zenith of his fame, in the service of 
his country, loved by every friend of man, and mourned 
by all the world. 

"There is a reaper whose name is Death, 
And with his sickle keen 
He reaps 'the bearded grain at a breath, 
And the flowers that grow between." 

But the grim reaper can never rob humanity of the 
undying fame of Abraham Lincoln. As my friend 
Colonel Henry Watterson has most truly and eloquently 
said : 

"A thousand years hence no story, no tragedy, no epic 
poem will be filled with greater wonder or be read with 
deeper feeling than that which tells of his life and death/' 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 245 



Lincoln was indeed a man — the man — upon whose like 
we shall not look again; and take him all in all he was 
one of the greatest apostle of human liberty the world 
has ever seen. 

The mortal Lincoln sleeps beneath the marble shaft at 
Springfield, and his shrine is, and ever will be, the 
Mecca of the liberty-loving people of the world whither 
shall journey to the end of time the countless millions 
yet unborn to kneel and kindle anew their zeal for hu- 
man freedom. 



THE GENERAL SLOCUM DISASTER. 



From Speech in Congress, May 31/1906. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, the General Slocum was an excursion 
steamer plying in and around the harbor of the city of 
New York. On the 15th day of June, 1904, the steamer 
was chartered to carry an excursion party consisting of 
over 1,500 souls — men, women and children — from St. 
Mark's German Lutheran Church. It was the Sunday 
school's annual holiday outing. These excursions are of 
frequent occurrence in the city of New York during the 
summer months and are social events of much impor- 
tance in the lives of the people in the thickly populated 
sections. All the members of the church, with their 
families and their friends, took advantage of the oppor- 
tunity afforded by this Sunday school picnic to go on 
this outing and have an enjoyable time. 

The General Slocum left her wharf early on that fate- 
ful morning, freighted with her human cargo, and 
started on her trip up the East River. It was a beauti- 
ful summer's day; the steamer was crowded; all her 
flags were gayly flying ; merry music was playing ; happy 
children singing and laughing ; parents and friends talk- 
ing over the topics of the day, and as the steamer 
wended her way all on board was joy and merriment. 

She had not proceeded far up the East River, however, 
when the cry of fire startled the passengers. In less time 
than it takes to tell it flames burst forth and, fanned by 
the breeze, quickly enveloped the boat. Amid cries and 
confusion that beggar description, and with a startling 
suddenness that cannot be pictured in words, a frightful 
scene ensued, too horrible for narration. 

The captain of the steamer lost his head, as so often 

246 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 247 



happens under similar circumstances — he was no Jim 
Bludsoe — and instead of immediately beaching the 
steamer, as he should have done, he ran her up the river 
several miles in the teeth of the increasing wind, where 
she finally grounded near North Brothers Island, a 
charred and blackened wreck. 

Oh, the pitiable scenes that ensued! The life pre- 
servers were rotten. The fire apparatus useless. The 
crew raw deck hands who were never drilled and tried 
only to save themselves. Pandemonium reigned, and 
amid the tumult and the scorching flames, hundreds and 
hundreds of helpless men, women, and children, caught 
like rats in a trap, were burned to a crisp on the ship, 
and hundreds and hundreds of others, just as helpless, 
were scorched and burned until, frantic, they threw them- 
selves into the rushing waters only to be drowned. 

It is too terrible a scene to contemplate even now. 
Fathers who were there lost their reason, and mothers, 
unable to save their children, went mad. The frightful 
horrors of it all will never be effaced from the memory 
of this generation. 

The funerals of the victims lasted for more than a 
week, and taxed the best energies of all the undertakers. 
The distress and the misery, the sorrow and the lamen- 
tation following this frightful tragedy can never be for- 
gotten, and the saddening scenes were heartrending to 
witness. The city of New York responded promptly, 
as it always does in all calamities. The sympathetic peo- 
ple did all they could for the unfortunate dead and the 
injured living, but, after all, how impotent they were in 
their poor human ways to do more than bury the 
stricken dead and comfort the burned and injured living. 

The Government ordered an investigation. That in- 
vestigation dragged its slow length along for weeks and 
months, and the testimony and findings in the matter 
filled a book, with the contents of which many here are 
thoroughly familiar. It was ascertained by this inves- 
tigation and by other inquiries, official and unofficial, that 
the terrible loss of life incident to this lamentable trag- 
edy could have been prevented if the officials of the 
Government charged with the responsibility had per- 



248 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



formed their duty in accordance with the law, It was 
proven conclusively that the life-preservers and the fire 
apparatus on board of the General Slocum were old and 
worn-out and absolutely useless, and this fire apparatus 
and these life-preservers had only recently been inspected 
by the Government inspectors, who had passed them as 
being in compliance with the provisions of the statutes 
of the United States. The law had been flagrantly vio- 
lated. The testimony proves it conclusively. 



THE SCENIC WONDERS OF NIAGARA FALLS. 



Speech in Congress, April n, 1906. 
Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, as the House of Representatives is now 
in Committee of the Whole House on the state of the 
Union, I desire to take advantage of the time at my dis- 
posal to say a few words in regard to the preservation of 
one of the greatest scenic wonders in all the world — 
Niagara Falls. 

I appeal to-day to this House to be up and doing, so 
that ere we adjourn there will be a law upon the Federal 
statute books that will preserve the beauty and the 
grandeur of this wonder of wonders, in so far as Con- 
gress can do so. 

We must protect the "thunder of waters" of the 
aborigines, one of the most awe-inspiring spectacles ever 
seen by a human being, the scenic land of all lovers of 
natural scenery, the Mecca toward which thousands of 
people travel every year from all parts of the world — 
the tumultuous, tremendous, thundering Niagara Falls. 

The scenic beauties of the Falls must not be destroyed, 
but must be preserved in all their marvelous splendor 
by this generation for all the ages yet to come. This is 
our duty. We are charged with this responsibility. We 
cannot and we must not evade it. These Niagara Falls 
do not belong to any country or to any people. They 
are the inalienable heritage of humanity, and one genera- 
tion must preserve them in all their splendor for the 
benefit of the next generation. 

We are the trustees of the natural grandeur and scenic 
glory of our beautiful land, charged by the sacred rights 
of mankind to transmit them unimpaired to future gen- 
erations; and if we fail to preserve this beautiful pic- 

249 



250 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



ture in nature's art gallery for those who are to come 
after us we will be false to our duty, recreant to the 
trust reposed in us, and justly censurable by those who 
will follow after us, 



JUSTICE TO THE LETTER CARRIERS. 

Speech in Congress, February 19, 1902, on Mr. Sulzer's 
BUI to Increase the Pay of the Letter Carriers. 

Mr, Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, I am a friend of the letter carriers. I 
am proud to say that. The Government in all its service 
has no more honest, no more tireless, no more faithful 
employees. Their claims are just and should be recog- 
nized. 

These men are the most efficient, the hardest worked 
in all the country's service, and the poorest paid. The 
letter carriers of the land are compelled to toil day in 
and day out — in sunshine and in storm, in winter and in 
summer, in all kinds of weather: — sometimes eighteen 
hours out of the twenty-four, and taking all other em- 
ployees in the various departments of the Federal Gov- 
ernment as a basis for comparison, it cannot be denied 
that the letter carriers render the most and the hardest 
work for the smallest remuneration. 

And yet, take them all in all, they are courteous, long 
suffering, uncomplaining, honest, assiduous and indus- 
trious. How few of our citizens ever think of their 
trials, their wants, their health, and their little ones at 
home. My sympathy is all with them — with their hopes 
and their sorrows. 

To-day my heart goes out to them. I cannot refrain 
from making this appeal in their behalf for simple jus- 
tice. How I wish it were in my power to aid them, to 
pass and enact into law my bill that they all want, that 
they all pray for ; this bill that is so fair and so just, that 
appeals to every right-thinking citizen in all the land, 
and that challenges adverse criticism. How much time 
and money we waste here for useless and worthless 

251 



252 SULZER'S SHORT r PEECHES 



things ! It is terrible when one soberly considers it all 
— and then, again, so much for the few, so little for the 
many. How easy for the powerful to pass a bill — a bad 
bill — and how difficult for the poor and the many, to pass 
a bill — a good bill. 

How poorly, how miserably the letter carriers are 
paid! Under the present law they do not, and cannot, 
earn enough, no matter how long they have been in the 
service of the Government or how many hours a day 
they labor, to keep body and soul together. And what 
do they get ? A mere pittance a month that is not enough 
to economically support one man. It is a disgrace, a 
crying shame. Many of these letter carriers have wives 
and children — little homes — and these wives and children 
in many cases are to-day in want. 

The head of the household does not get paid enough 
by the Government to live halfway decently. But it is 
not the Government's fault, it is the fault of the Repre- 
sentatives here in Congress. I want to appeal to the 
Republicans and the Democrats of this House, in the 
name of justice and fair play, to do something for the 
poor letter carriers. 



THE COPYRIGHT LAW. 



Mr. Sulzer Is the Author of the Bill and Passed 

the Law. 

Speaking in favor of it in Congress, March 3, 1909, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, the Copyright Bill is a comprehensive 
measure, doing substantial justice to all interests con- 
cerned and should be enacted into law ere we adjourn. 

It is a great stride along the path of honesty and a 
long step in advance along the road of progress. No 
favoritism is shown and no monopoly can be created. 
All manufacturers by paying a royalty fixed by this bill 
to the author or composer will have the same rights and 
the same privileges. So even-handed justice is done to 
all concerned and there can be no monopoly. All things 
considered I think the composers' rights in this bill are 
amply safeguarded. 

I am most friendly disposed to the authors and com- 
posers of America. I made the stand for their rights. 
I fought their battle in the committee for three years, 
and I have won their fight. I would give them greater 
rights if I could, but the provision in this bill to protect 
their interests is the best I was able to secure for them, 
and they are, so I am informed, entirely satisfied with 
the bill as amended and now before the House. 

Of course, many of the vital questions in dispute have 
been compromised. To secure a favorable report and 
immediate action in this Congress this had to be done. 
All legislation is more or less of a compromise, and this 
is especially so in a measure of so complicated a charac- 
ter and affecting so many interests, directly and in- 
directly, as the bill under consideration. 

It is conceded by all who have given the present copy- 

253 



254 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



right laws the most superficial investigation that they are 
wholly inadequate to meet the requirements of modern 
civilization. Great progress has been made since the ex- 
isting copyright laws were enacted years ago, and the 
courts have frequently declared that these ancient copy- 
right laws are imperfect in definition, confusing in 
phraseology and inconsistent in construction. They fail 
to give the protection essentially demanded by modern 
conditions, are difficult of interpretation, and impossible 
of intelligent administration. Attempts to improve them 
by amendments have proved futile, and have only made 
them more incomprehensible and unsatisfactory. 

This bill marks progress. It is a great step in advance. 
No legislative body in the world has yet taken such a 
forward movement along the line of protecting the rights 
of composers and authors as the measure under consid- 
eration. 

This copyright compilation is a monumental work— 
the result of much care and labor — and so far as I am 
concerned a labor of love, because I have, from the very 
beginning, labored for justice to every interest affected 
along equitable and economical and utilitarian lines, ever 
bearing in mind the true welfare of the people. 

So I think I can justly say this bill is in the interest 
of all the people. It is a fair and a just measure. It 
may not be absolutely perfect. It would not be the work 
of finite man if it were destitute of some defect. But if 
there be defects in it, they can speedily be remedied 
when the bill becomes a law and all its provisions more 
carefully studied and scrutinized. I want to see it pass 
the Congress to-day. I know that it will be a grave 
mistake if this House votes down this bill after the 
struggle we have had to get a favorable and a unani- 
mous report. Do not now defeat it. If you do defeat 
this measure, it will delay copyright legislation for years, 
and the people of the country, when they realize it, will 
be sadly and grievously disappointed, 



THE BUREAU OF CORPORATIONS. 



Mr. Sulzer is the Author of the Bureau of Cor- 
porations in the Department of Commerce to 
Secure Publicity Regarding Trusts and Mo- 
nopolies, the Most Important Anti-Trust 
Legislation Since the Passage of the Anti- 
Trust Act of 1890. 

Speaking in favor of this amendment in Congress, 
April 15, 1899, Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, I desire to state briefly that my amend- 
ment brings before the House, as clearly and as posi- 
tively as any proposition can, the question of whether the 
members of this House are in favor of publicity regard- 
ing the trusts or not. If we are sincerely in favor of 
publicity regarding the trusts we cannot, it seems to me, 
object to this amendment. If we want publicity we can- 
not object to the establishment of this bureau of cor- 
porations in the Department of Commerce and Labor, for 
it is something which will create publicity and secure the 
information the Attorney-General says he wants in order 
to enforce the anti-trust laws. 

In my opinion, it is the best plan for publicity yet de- 
vised and w r ill secure the information that every citizen 
wants regarding the trusts of our country, and go far, 
in my judgment, to prevent violating the law now on 
the statute books. It has been stated by those more com- 
petent to judge perhaps than myself that if this amend- 
ment were a law no trust in this country could violate 
the law without detection. 

I think this amendment ought to be adopted. It will 
be if those who oppose monopolies and want publicity 
regarding them vote for it. 



MR. SULZER IS THE AUTHOR OF THE LAW 
MAKING 8 HOURS A LEGAL DAY'S WORK 
ON GOVERNMENT WORK. 

Speaking for the bill in Congress, January 7, 1897, 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, In my judgment, no man in this country 
ought to be compelled to work more than eight hours a 
day. We want fewer idle men and more work in this 
country. 

I want to say that I am a friend of the wage-earner. 
I want to see, and I hope the day is not far distant when 
we all shall see an eight-hour law all over the land and 
rigidly enforced in even- State in the country. I believe 
it will be beneficial to the laborer, advantageous to the 
community in which he lives, and for the best interest of 
the Government. Too long hours make the wage-earner 
a poor workman. Shorter hours, in my opinion, will 
produce better results. 

I am and always have been an advocate of shorter 
hours for a legal work day. The history of the past 
teaches us that every reduction in the hours constituting 
a day's work has resulted beneficially. 

These reductions in the hours of labor have decreased 
intemperance, increased knowledge, made better homes, 
happier and better clothed wives and children, brighter 
and more prosperous firesides, and in every way bene- 
fited the social relations, promoted happiness and con- 
tentment, and improved the moral, economical, and finan- 
cial condition of the producing masses of our land. 



SAMUEL J. TILDEN. 



Mr. Sulzer is the Author of the Bill in Congress 
to Erect a Monument in Washington to 
Samuel J. Tilden. 

In a speech in favor of the bill in Congress on May 3, 
1910, Mr. Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, Samuel J. Tilden died at his country 
house, "Greystone," Westchester County, N. Y., on the 
4th day of August, 1886. He never married. Under 
the provisions of Mr. Tilden's will, the greater portion 
of his fortune, estimated at more than $5,000,000, was 
devoted to public uses, the chief of which was the es- 
tablishment and endowment in the city of New York of a 
free public library. 

The great power of Mr. Tilden consisted in his ability 
to concentrate his mind upon his work. Where others 
vaporized he crystallized. The realm of speculative phi- 
losophy had no attraction for him. He reduced states- 
manship to one of the exact sciences. He treated a 
problem in government as he would a problem in mathe- 
matics ; he took all the factors, discovered their relative 
value, and then used them. Glittering generalities were 
his abhorrence. Facts were his friends and figures his 
delight. His mental equipment was large; his horizon 
broad ; his gift of prevision amounted almost to prophesy. 
He was a man of action. He did things. Few have so 
fully accomplished the tasks set before them. Few men 
have received so many unsought honors. 

Out of this power of concentration sprang two 
anomalous characteristics — absolute fearlessness linked 
to great caution. Nobody who knew Mr. Tilden ever 
dreamed of frightening him. He was insensible to 
threats. He knew the right, and never faltered. He 

257 



258 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



disliked those who took counsel of their apprehensions. 
He was cautious. He never moved until he had pro- 
vided against every possible contingency. He vindi- 
cated his courage in his designs and displayed his cau- 
tion in the execution thereof. He did a bold thing in 
the summer of 1875, when, as governor of New York, 
he promised the people in his speeches at Buffalo, Syra- 
cuse, and Utica, that their taxes should be reduced by 
$6,000,000. But he did a cautious thing when he fixed 
the sum at six millions while he w r as paving the way for 
the reduction of eight millions— which was finally ef- 
fected. 

In 1862 Mr. Tilden told Secretary Stanton that a great 
military genius rose only once in two or three centuries. 
A great political reformer rises hardly as often as a 
military genius. The civic hero's task is more difficult, 
his labor more thankless, and his reward less certain. 
If it be ambition which induces an honest and fearless 
man to grapple with public thieves, well intrenched in 
power, then it is the same sort of ambition which prompts 
the patriotic soldier to volunteer to lead a forlorn hope 
in battle. Sometimes the leader of a forlorn hope suc- 
ceeds, and great is his glory. Oftener the civic hero 
fails and is forgotten. The chances are so much against 
him that his very existence demonstrates his unselfish- 
ness. 

It is almost impossible to sound the depths of the 
subtle nature of Samuel J. Tilden. He was a great stu- 
dent. His intellectual resources were inexhaustible. He 
lived in New York City for more than fifty years, min- 
gling in the best society of the metropolis ; but the man- 
ner of the student was upon him at all times. The 
great problems which he sought to solve — the problems 
that had eluded the efforts of other statesmen — engaged 
his attention to the time of his death. He prized at its 
full value the relaxation and comfort which his home 
life afforded him, but the largest share of his time for 
fifty years had been devoted to hard work, and had he 
so wished he could not have released himself from those 
habits of industry which were woven into the warp and 
woof of his very nature. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 259 

Years ago Martin Van Buren said of Samuel J. Til- 
den, "He is the most unambitious man I ever knew." 
His acquaintance with Tilden'' s boyhood, his appreciation 
of his talents, and his knowledge of the opportunities for 
advancement which he had rejected, led him to make the 
remark. He could not understand how a man might 
gratify a rational ambition by attending strictly to his 
professional pursuits, winning the confidence of those 
around him, and discharging faithfully his duties as a 
citizen. Yet that sphere of life filled the measure of Mr. 
Tilden' s ambition, and would have filled it to the end if 
he had not been driven forward by circumstances 
stronger than he could control. He has been charged 
with overweening political ambition, and yet the truth 
is that he never sought a public position in his life, He 
has been accused of working for his own advancement. 
The accusation is without justification. Mr. Tilden 
worked for the advancement of a cause which he be- 
lieved to be essential to the preservation of democratic 
institutions. He worked for an end, but he was no self- 
seeker. If he could have found his alter ego — some 
man who possessed the courage, the efficiency, the hon- 
esty, the energy, the intelligence, and the desire to bring 
about the reforms which he sought and which the coun- 
try needed — he would have gladly supported that man 
for the Presidency in 1876, and remained in retirement 
himself. But the man was not to be found. Tilden 
had to lead, because he was in front — far ahead. 

In June, 1876, the national Democratic convention, as- 
sembled at St. Louis, nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the 
Presidency. As finally declared, the electoral vote was 
185 for Mr. Hayes and 184 for Mr. Tilden. The popu- 
lar vote, as counted, gave Tilden 4,284,265, Hayes 
4,033,295, Cooper 81.737, and Smith 9,522. Mr. Tilden 
was opposed to the Electoral Commission, declaring his 
belief in ''the exclusive jurisdiction of the two Houses of 
the Congress to count the electoral votes by their own 
servants and under such instruction as they might deem 
proper to give." 

Samuel J. Tilden was a great man — a great lawyer, 
a great patriot, a great statesman, a great philanthropist 



26o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



— and he deserves a monument in the capital of his coun- 
try. If he had become President he would have entered 
upon the duties and the responsibilities that would have 
fallen upon him not as one entering upon a holiday rec- 
reation, but very much in that spirit of patriotic conse- 
cration in which a great soldier enters a battle for hu- 
man rights. He had drunk deep at the fountains of free- 
dom and of patriotism. He gave to hi-s country that love 
which others yield to wife and children. He was whole 
in himself, possessing firmness without obstinacy, cour- 
age without bravado, religion without cant. He w T as no 
hypocrite. To the call of civic duty he never hesitated. 
The traditions of the fathers were his inspiration. He 
stood for equal rights to all. He loved justice. The 
Constitution was his sheet anchor. He had no personal 
ends to serve, no other ambition than to save the Re- 
public from the canker of corruption which ate out the 
heart of every republic of ancient times. He believed 
we were only trustees for future generations, and would 
be recreant to our trust if we failed to hand down to 
them unimpaired the free institutions we now enjoy. 

Mr. Speaker, in my judgment, patriotic America 
agrees with me that Samuel J. Tilden deserves a monu- 
ment. In counting up that long array of names whom 
the people have honored by electing to the highest office 
in their power, the future historian will linger long to 
inquire v/hether it was a fraud or a blunder that robbed 
the great reformer of New York of a seat that he was 
so eminently qualified to fill, and regarding that I have 
no fears as to the final verdict impartial history will re- 
cord in the annals of America. 



LETTER FROM HON. JOHN BIGELOW TO CON- 
GRESSMAN SULZER. 



21 Gramercy Park, May n, 1910. 

Hon. William Sulzer. 

Dear Sir : I have learned with great pleasure of your 
efforts to secure the authority and aid of Congress to 
erect a suitable monument at the capital to commemorate 
the public services of the late Samuel J. Tilden. 

Among the great public benefactors of this nation it 
would be difficult to name another whose public services 
were indebted in so inconsiderable a degree to the pres- 
tige and advantages of office. It would be still more 
difficult to name another who made equal sacrifices of 
time and fortune for the accomplishment of the memor- 
able reforms in the municipal and state governments of 
New York which are imperishably associated with his 
name. But it would be impossible to name another gov- 
ernor any of whose messages were published in full by 
the press of so many other States of the Union, or even 
in any other State of the Union, than his own, as it was 
the distinguished fortune of nearly all of his to be. I 
think I shall be doing no injustice to any citizen, gov- 
ernor, or President of the United States when I say that 
the public papers of Mr. Tilden have never been sur- 
passed for soundness of statesmanship, lucidity of ex- 
pression, and unassailable logic by any other American 
statesman, whether in or out of office. 

Though prevented by the limited means of his parents 
and a delicate constitution of his own from enjoying but 
very limited advantages of early education, and from his 
early life dependent upon his own resources for a liveli- 
hood, he rose to a commanding position in the legal pro- 
fession and amassed by it what in his day was regarded 

261 



262 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



as an enviable fortune. After providing generously for 
his kin — he never married — four-fifths at least of his 
large fortune he bequeathed to his executors as his trus- 
tees for the establishment of a library in the city in 
which his money had been earned. The New York 
Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundation in 
a few months will give to the American public one of the 
half dozen largest collections of books in the world, 
stored by the munificence of the New York municipality 
in one of the most perfectly equipped structures for its 
purpose in the world. 

If the United States has produced any statesman, bar- 
rister, or citizen whose private and public character en- 
titles him to a memorial which shall serve to recall a 
character to be admired, an example to be imitated, and 
a career in which succeeding generations will take in- 
creasing pride, it was Samuel J . Tilden. 

I doubt if your colleagues can make any appropria- 
tion likely to commend itself to so large a proportion of 
the people of the United States to-day as that for which 
you are — I hope successfully — applying. 

Yours very respectfully, 

John Bigelow. 



TAKE THE TAXES OFF THE NECESSARIES OF 

LIFE. 

Mr. Sulzer Is the Author of the Bill in Congress 
to Take Off All Taxes on the Necessaries of 
Life. 

Speaking in favor of the bill in Congress, March 31, 
1909, he said : 

Mr. Speaker, we know to-day beyond all contention 
that the tariff is a tax, and beyond all dispute that the 
consumers pay the taxes. Ultimately nearly all the bur- 
dens of tariff taxation fall upon the consumers of the 
country. Protection for protection's sake is a system of 
indirect taxation that robs the many for the benefit of 
the few. No party that stands for the best interests of 
all the people can support it, especially where it fosters 
trusts, shelters monopolies, and saddles the great burdens 
of government on the farmer and the wage-earner of 
the country. 

The Republicans now tell us that they will revise the 
tariff schedules of the Dingley law, but they do not tell 
us whether they will revise the tariff up or down. They 
may, if they are continued in power, revise the tar: if 
taxes at some future time, but if they do, I am satis- 
fied they will make the taxes higher instead of lower, 
and legislate for monopoly instead of man. The protec- 
tion policy of the Republican party is absurd. We should 
reduce the high cost of living by taking off the tariff 
taxes from all the necessaries of life. 

For more than ten years the increasing cost of living, 
mounting higher and higher each succeeding year, has 
been the most immediate, the most pressing and the most 
universally observed fact about economic conditions in 
this country. During all this period, while wages have 

263 



264 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



remained practically the same, and the cost of the neces- 
saries of life have been going higher and higher, and 
growing more and more oppressive, the promise has 
been held out by the Republicans that when they got 
around to tariff revision something would be done to 
remedy those inequitable conditions. But what was the 
result? The mockery of the Payne- Aldrich tariff law — 
making matters worse instead of better. The people are 
tired of being humbugged. Ever since 1896 the aver- 
age man has been gradually losing his hold on the means 
cf physical existence. 



IN FAVOR OF A GENERAL PARCELS POST. 



Mr. Sulzer Is the Author of the Bill for a General 
Parcels Post in Congress. 

Speaking in favor of the bill on April 23, 1912, Mr. 
Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, the post office is one of the oldest gov- 
ernmental institutions, an agency established by the 
earliest civilizations to enable the people to inform them- 
selves as to the plans and movements of their friends 
and foes,, and from the dawn of history the only limit 
the people have placed upon this service has been the 
capacity of the existing transport machinery. 

The cursus publicus of imperial Rome — the post office 
of the Roman Caesars — covered the entire business of 
transportation and transmission, and with its splendid 
post roads, swift post horses, and ox post wagons, the 
Roman post office was a mechanism far wider in its scope 
than that of our modern post office ; and, except for the 
use of mechanical power, the old Roman post was far 
more efficient in its service to the people than our modern 
post office in its service to American citizens. 

The evil of the Roman post office, and the royal postal 
service that succeeded it, was its restriction to the en- 
richment of the ruling powers. They were the proto- 
types of our modern express companies, which have for 
their chief end the enrichment of their stockholders 
rather than the promotion of the public welfare. 

As far back as 1837 Rowland Hill, of England, pro- 
mulgated to the world the law that once a postal-trans- 
port service is in operation the cost of its use is regard- 
less of the distance traversed upon the moving machin- 
ery by any unit of traffic within its capacity, and upon 
this law he established the English penny-letter post of 
1839. 



266 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



In this country the people own the post office and 
want to use it as their postal express company. Its end 
is to keep them informed, to make known their wishes, 
to provide means by which they may communicate with 
their fellow citizens for their mutual benefit, to supply 
their wants, and dispose of their wares at the least pos- 
sible cost, in the shortest possible time, and with the 
greatest possible security. 

The postal system of rates, regardless of distance, re- 
gardless of the character of the matter transported, and 
regardless of the volume of the patron's business, emi- 
nently fits it for this great service. That it will sooner 
or later be greatly extended is absolutely certain, and the 
people will duly appreciate the aid of those who assist 
in its extension and development for their benefit and 
advantage. 

The people demand and have demanded for several 
years a general parcels post. I know the people of the 
country favor its inauguration. I feel confident its es- 
tablishment will be of inestimable benefit and advantage 
to the producers and to the consumers and to all con- 
cerned. 

Just think of it. A person living in any part of 
Europe can send to any part of the United States by 
mail a parcel weighing two and one-half times more than 
the United States limit for about one-third less in cost 
than the present home rates. In other words, the world 
postal-union package unit is n pounds to the parcel, at 
the rate of 12 cents per pound, whereas the United States 
unit is only 4 pounds to the package and at a cost of 16 
cents to the pound. The parcel rate in the United States 
prior to 1879 was 8 cents per pound for a package lim- 
ited to a weight of 4 pounds. After that the rate was 
doubled, but the weight remained the same. Since 1879 
the cost of transportation has greatly decreased. The 
question is, Why should not the people be given the 
benefit of this decrease by the establishment of a uni- 
form low postal rate for parcels that will encourage the 
use of the post office as a medium of exchange of com- 
modities and thus greatly facilitate trade? 

The neglect of the United States to establish a gen- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 267 



eral parcels post has for years limited the easy exchange 
of commodities and merchandise between producers and 
manufacturers and the consumers, and it has placed our 
Government far behind the times in progressive legisla- 
tion for the people. 

It is a fact that to-day under the English-post-Ameri- 
can-express arrangement parcels can now be sent from 
any part of Great Britain to any part of the United 
States at the following rates : Three pounds for 30 
cents, 7 pounds for 49 cents, and 11 pounds for 79 
cents. And under the British contract with the Ameri- 
can Express Co. these parcels are transported from 
one end of this country to the other, 3 pounds for 36 
cents, 3 to 7 pounds for 48 cents, and 7 to 11 pounds for 
60 cents. Meantime the express companies tax domestic 
merchandise of the same weight from 75 cents to $5.50, 
according to the distance traversed, while the post office 
taxes the public for a similar domestic service on a 
3-pound parcel 48 cents, on a 7-pound parcel in two 
packages $1.12, and on an 11 -pound parcel in three 
packages, $1.76. 

What a spectacle is presented to-day to the Congress 
of the United States when we witness this unjust dis- 
crimination against our own people in favor of the for- 
eigners. Who owns the post-office facilities in the 
United States, the people of Europe or the people of 
America? That is the question the voters are asking 
us and are going to ask every Member of Congress in 
the coming campaign. I know r where I stand. My 
position cannot be misunderstood. I stand for the peo- 
ple when the people are right, and they never were 
more right in all their lives than they are to-day when 
they appeal to their Representatives in Congress to give 
them what every other civilized government on earth has 
— a general parcels post. 

Our failure to provide a general parcels post is caus- 
ing to the post office a needless loss of $38,000,000 a 
year, and to the public a loss of hundreds of millions, 
while at the same time we deprive the carriers of an 
opportunity to earn a reasonable living; and the time is 
now at hand for Congress to heed the insistent demand 



-68 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 

of the people for an extended parcels post along the 
lines of my bill, the express companies to the contrary 
notwithstanding. 

The people are going to win this fight. The citizens 
of the United States are certainly entitled to utilize the 
advantages of their own post-office system the same as 
the people in Europe now do ; and they would gladly 
do so if the Congress would only enact a law, and to 
this end I appeal to the patriotic Members of Congress 
to lend a helping hand in this struggle for genuine 
postal reform. 

It is because I realize the force of these truths so 
keenly that I am so persistent in urging favorable con- 
sideration of .my bill for a general parcels post. Its only 
fault, in my opinion, is its conservatism. What this 
country now needs, what Congress should give it, is a 
general parcels post covering all the business of postal 
transportation, with a maximum weight of n pounds 
at 8 cents or less a pound. 

It is ridiculous for anybody to say that the Govern- 
ment cannot do a general parcels post business. It is 
too preposterous for argument. Of course the Govern- 
ment can do it, and can do it a great deal better and a 
good deal cheaper and more advantageously than the 
express company. The Government has a contract with 
the railways by which the railways must carry the mail 
— the parcels post is mail. The mail now goes for thou- 
sands of miles all over the country. What do the mail 
cars contain? A few sacks of mail; that is all. The 
mail cars should be utilized to their maximum capacity. 
That is economy. They ought to be filled with mail — ■ 
parcels and letters. We are paying the railroads; the 
mail cars are ours. We ought to utilize them to their 
maximum capacity and to their utmost efficiency. We 
are not doing it now. Why are we not doing it? Be- 
cause the express companies are doing the parcels post 
business of the Government. You can see how cheaply 
the Government can do it. We do not need many more 
employees to do it. All we need is to do our duty and 
pass the law. 

Those who understand the question are familiar with 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 269 



the fundamental law of economics promulgated and es- 
tablished by Mr. Hill years ago. Let me say over again 
that as far back as 1837 Rowland Hill, of England, pro- 
mulgated to the world the economic law that once a 
public transport service is in operation the cost of its 
use is regardless of the distance traversed upon the 
moving machinery by any unit of traffic within its ca- 
pacity. That principle is so well understood to-day by 
every student of political economy that it cannot now 
be successfully questioned or controverted. A general 
parcels post, once established with reasonable rates, re- 
gardless of distance, regardless of the character of the 
matter transported, and regardless of the volume of the 
patron's business, is eminently fitted for great service to 
the people. That it should be extended over the entire 
field of postal transportation is absolutely certain. 

The assertion that a general parcels post law will in- 
jure the small country merchant is ridiculous. I am a 
friend of the country merchant. I was born and brought 
up in the country and I know the country merchant. I 
would do nothing to injure him. What will this general 
parcels post bill do? I will tell you what it will do. The 
general parcels post may hurt, to some extent, the ex- 
press companies. It may hurt, to some extent, the middle- 
men ; but I am not legislating for the welfare of the 
middlemen or for the good of the express companies. 
I am legislating for the people — for the consumer — and 
I know that a general parcels post will bring the pro- 
ducer and the manufacturer and the consumer closer 
together, and go far to cheapen the cost of the neces- 
saries of life ; and any bill that will bring the producer 
and the consumer closer together and cheapen the cost 
of the necessaries of life to the people of America al- 
ways did and always will have my support. 



MR. SULZER'S SPEECH ON THE DIPLOMATIC 
AND CONSULAR APPROPRIATION BILL. 



Mr. Sulzer Is the Chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs Which Prepared and Passed 
This Bill. 

Speaking on the Bill in Congress, April 25, 1912, Mr. 
Sulzer said: 

Mr. Speaker, I want to explain this conference report. 
The diplomatic and consular appropriation bill for the 
fiscal year ending June 30, 1913, as reported from the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs and as it passed the 
House, carried in the neighborhood of $500,000 less than 
the appropriations for the last fiscal year and over 
$800,000 less than the estimates submitted for the next 
fiscal year. The pruning of the estimates submitted for 
various purposes was conscientiously done where it 
could be afforded the most easily without present or fu- 
ture injury to any agency of the Government provided 
for in this appropriation bill. 

This bill was carefully prepared and considered by 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and reported to the 
House unanimously. The total estimates submitted ag- 
gregated $4,449,697.41 ; the amount appropriated for the 
last fiscal year was $3,988,516.41; the bill as it passed 
the House, carrying the appropriations for the next fiscal 
year, totaled $3,418,791.41, which was $569,825 less 
than last year's appropriations. 

The Senate increased the appropriations $369,566. The 
bill as agreed on finally in conference between the Sen- 
ate and the House conferees now carries appropriations 
for the fiscal year of 1913 of $3,638,047.41, which is 
$811,650 less than the estimates, and is $350469 less 
than the appropriations in the last diplomatic and con- 
sular appropriation bill. 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 271 



We have saved the taxpayers in this bill — at least 
$350,000 less than last year. Think of that. That is a 
considerable saving to the taxpayers of the country. I 
speak advisedly when I say that there has not been for 
years an appropriation bill from any committee of this 
House which went so far along the lines of real economy 
as the present diplomatic and consular appropriation bill 
for the next fiscal year. But more. The bill as agreed 
upon in conference is $350,469 less than the appropria- 
tions for the current year — that is, the year 1912 — and 
over $800,000 less than the estimates submitted by the 
department. That is a saving of more than 25 per cent, 
on the estimates, and more than 10 per cent, between the 
amount appropriated last year and the amount appro- 
priated this year — quite an item. 

This is the first annual appropriation bill to pass this 
Congress, and if every one of the other appropriation 
bills does as well as has been done in this appropriation 
bill, which saves the taxpayers more than 10 per cent, 
between last year and this year, it will aggregate a net 
saving to the taxpayers of the United States for the 
fiscal year 1913 of over $125,000,000. That will speak 
well for economy. The record of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs for economy this year speaks for itself, 
and deserves the commendation of this House and the 
taxpayers of the country. 

Xow a few words regarding the foreign service. For 
every dollar that we appropriate for the foreign service 
the people of the United States get back in actual money 
which goes into the Treasury Department about 15 per 
cent. But, as a matter of fact, for every dollar ex- 
pended in our foreign service there comes back, directly 
or indirectly, to the taxpayers and the business people 
of the country a hundred dollars for one. Our Depart- 
ment of State is the most economical branch of the en- 
tire Government, and nobody can successfully contro- 
vert the statement. 

The value of the foreign service to the Government, 
to American commerce, and to the individual citizen h 
now recognized and cannot be gainsaid. It is no longer 
merely political, but it has become, to a large extent, an 



272 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



efficient non-partisan instrument for the expansion of 
American commerce and the extension of American en- 
terprise, securing for American commercial interests 
fair and equal trade opportunity with the peoples of 
other countries, and it assures to the individual citizen 
the protection of his rights the world over. It is through 
its agency that the entire business of the Government 
in its relations with other Governments is conducted; 
and,, as I said, for every dollar expended for the foreign 
service the people of the United States receive directly 
or indirect!}' one hundred for one in return. 

There is not a dollar appropriated in this bill that is 
not absolutely necessary ; there is not an item in the bill 
that should be stricken out, and if it were it would sub- 
ject us to severe condemnation on the part of the busi- 
ness people of the United States. I will do nothing to 
cripple the Department of State,, which is doing so much 
for our foreign trade and commerce. It is a matter of 
gratification for me to say — and I know I voice the sen- 
timents of our people generally — that there never was a 
time in the history of our country when our Diplomatic 
and Consular Service was so efficient and on so high a 
plane as it is to-day. 

I am broad-minded enough to declare that, so far as 
I am concerned, in the future as in the past I shall do 
everything in my power to continue to improve the per- 
sonnel and the efficiency of our foreign sendee, and in 
so far as may be possible lift it completely out of the 
slough of partisan politics and put it where it belongs, 
upon the high, impregnable ground of the merit system, 
where talent, ability, competency, fitness, and experience 
shall be the sole qualifications for appointment and pro- 
motion. 



EULOGY OX THE LATE SENATOR STEPHEN 
B. ELKINS. 



In Congress, January 7, 1912. 
Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker, as a friend for many years of Senator 
Elkins I come to-day to place on record my tribute of 
respect to his memory. He was my friend and evi- 
denced it in many ways during the time we served to- 
gether in the Congress of the United States. In his 
unexpected death the State he represented here so long, 
so intelligently, and so industriously was deprived of one 
of its foremost citizens : the Republic lost a loyal and 
a patriotic public servant ; his bereaved family a loving 
husband and an indulgent father : and his innumerable 
friends, from one end of the land to the other, a safe 
counselor, a sagacious advocate, and a wise and con- 
sistent champion. 

One had to know Senator Elkins intimately to know 
the real, true man. He was warm-hearted, broad- 
minded, and tolerant. He was alert in thought and 
quick in speech. He was dignified and sympathetic. He 
was a man who stood high among the constructive 
statesmen of his time ; he lived above the commonplace 
and sought his friends and did his work on the higher 
level of purpose and of intellectuality, of usefulness, and 
of strict integrity. 

He served his State and his country well, and he 
served in all things that were elevating and lasting. The 
sterling manhood that was in him recognized both the 
duty and the opportunity, and lifted his service into the 
light of lasting companionship and the reality- of good 
example. He was a diligent student of affairs, and in 
all matters of moment he carefully searched for the 

273 



274 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



truth. What he said was based not on impulse but on 
sincere conviction. There was no forced attempt at 
brilliancy in his oratory. He was a direct man and 
spoke simply and truly and honestly. He was a man of 
clean thought and of clean speech ; his inner life was 
carefully swept and generously garnished, so that all 
could quickly tell what sort of man was the distinguished 
Senator of West Virginia. He was an indefatigable 
worker, and he fell by the wayside at the zenith of his 
public service because strength was exhausted and na- 
ture demanded her long rest. 

In many ways it can be truly said of Senator Elkins 
that he was a brilliant man, a constructive stateman, 
who took a prominent part in all the great debates of his 
time. He wrote lasting laws on our statute books, and 
by his industry and ability, together with his courteous 
manners and his genial ways, won the lifelong respect 
and the lasting admiration of his colleagues and his fel- 
low citizens. 

Stephen Benton Elkins was a child of the great West. 
He was born in Perry County, Ohio, September 26, 
1841 ; he received his early education in the public 
schools of Missouri and graduated from the university 
of that State, at Columbia, in the class of i860; he was 
admitted to the bar in 1864 and in the same year went 
to Xew Mexico, where he acquired a knowledge of the 
Spanish language and began the practice of the law. 
He was a member of the Territorial Legislative Assem- 
bly of New Mexico in 1864 and 1865, and held the of- 
fices of Territorial district attorney, attorney general, 
and United States district attorney. He was elected to 
the Forty-third Congress and while abroad was renomi- 
nated and elected to the Forty-fourth Congress. During 
the time he served in Congress he was made a member 
of the Republican national committee, on which he 
served for three presidential campaigns. After leaving 
Congress he moved to West Virginia and devoted him- 
self to his business affairs. He was appointed Secretary 
of War December 17, 1891, and served until the close 
of President Harrison's administration. In February, 
1894, he was elected to the United States Senate, to sue- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 275 

ceed Hon. Johnson N. Camden, and was re-elected in 
1901 by every vote of the Republican members of the 
legislature, giving him a majority of 40 on joint ballot. 
He was again unanimously re-elected in 1907 and served 
in the Senate until his untimely death. Such in brief is 
the brilliant record of S. B. Elkins,, and it demonstrates 
anew the hope and the opportunities of the Republic, 
What a splendid and triumphant career ! 

When Senator Elkins passed away, at the summit of 
his congressional life, he had made an enviable record 
for statesmanship and for usefulness, not only for the 
benefit of his constituents but for the good of the whole 
country. We have missed him much here since his long 
departure, and as the days come and go we w r ho knew 
him well will miss him more and more. The work he 
did for the people will live in the history of his State and 
of his country. The good he did will grow brighter 
and brighter as the years pass away until it becomes his 
lasting monument, more enduring than marble or brass 
and forever sacred in the hearts of his grateful coun- 
trymen. 

We mourn and sympathize with his beloved family, 
but we find words of comfort and of consolation in his 
noble life, his generous character, his sympathetic na- 
ture, and the great work he accomplished for his coun- 
try. His deeds of kindness, of charity, and of gener- 
osity will ever keep alive his memory and frequently 
call to recollection the glory of his name. 

"The memory of good deeds will ever stay, 
A lamp to light us on the darkened way. 
A music to the ear on clamoring street, 
A cooling well amid the noonday heat, 
A scent of green boughs blown through narrow walls, 
A feel of rest when quiet evening falls/' 

Senator Elkins was a true man, a lover of justice, a 
believer in the supremacy of law, a friend of every 
cause that lacked assistance. He stood for eternal prin- 
ciples of right, and believed in the opportunity vouch- 
safed to every one under the dome of the Union sky. 



276 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



He was no skeptic, no scoffer, no cynic. He was broad 
and liberal in his views, had charity for all, trusted the 
people, and never lost faith in humanity. He knew the 
world was growing better, and he believed in the greater 
and the grander destiny of his country. 

He hated cant and despised hypocrisy. He had a 
sunshiny disposition and a forgiving spirit that never 
harbored revenge. He was a plain, simple man, who 
loved his fellow man. He will live in the hearts of 
those he left behind, and to do this is not to die. He 
was a great worker, and succeeded in accomplishing 
what he undertook to do. He was a true son of our na- 
tive soil, the friend of the toiler, and the eloquent advo- 
cate of the oppressed. He tried to lift his fellow man up 
to a higher plane and help him forward on the highway 
of progress and of civilization. He was a fearless man 
and ever dared to do what he thought was right regard- 
less of the consequences. He was a faithful public of- 
ficial, and died in the service of his country. His work 
here is done. His career on earth is finished. He has 
run his course; he kept the faith; he fought the good 
fight; he has reaped his everlasting reward in the great 
beyond, and we, his friends, can all most truly say, Well 
done, thou good and faithful servant of a grateful people. 



ALASKA— THE WONDERLAND OF THE 
WORLD. 



SPEECH OF MR. SULZER, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA- 
TIVES, IN FAVOR OF THE ALASKA HOME RULE BILL, 
WEDNESDAY, APRIL I/, I912. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

Mr. Speaker : Alaska is a wonderland. Nine-tenths 
of the people of our country have no idea of the vast- 
ness of her boundaries, the extent of her domain, the 
grandeur of her scenery, the salubrity of her climate, the 
greatness of her mountains, the length of her rivers, the 
possibilities of her fisheries and her forests ; the grazing 
advantages in her valleys for sheep and cattle ; her splen- 
did agricultural resources; her incalculable mineral 
wealth; and her splendid homes for the multitude in the 
land up there that spells opportunity for the earnest 
worker and the brave pioneer. 

Alaska is a marvelous land. She would make 470 
States of the size of Rhode Island. She has the greatest 
gold, and iron, and copper, and lead, and coal, and tin 
deposits in North America. Alaska has 599,446 square 
miles of territory — more than 383,645,440 acres of land 
— and the greatest fishing waters in all the world, teem- 
ing with the best food fish on earth. 

Alaska is God's country. She is over twice the size 
of the German Empire; 14 times the size of the State of 
New York; and has more copper known to-day than 
Michigan and Arizona combined. She is one-fifth the 
size of the entire United States ; has paid for herself five 
times over in money actually collected in Alaska and de- 
posited in the Federal Treasury. Alaska was purchased 
from Russia for $7,200,000, less than 2 cents an acre, and 
has produced in gold and silver alone more than 29 

277 



278 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



times what she cost — the cheapest bargain in land in the 
annals of time. 

Alaska has a known coal-bearing area larger than all 
the rest of the coal-bearing area in the United States. 
Alaska has the greatest cattle and sheep ranges now in 
the north, and agricultural possibilities beyond the imag- 
ination of the finite mind — a mighty empire is Alaska 
that welcomes heroic man. 

What does Alaska want? Alaska demands home rule 
— the right of her people to govern themselves— an in- 
herent American right that Congress has never denied to 
any of our people in any part of our domain in all our 
past, and which should no longer be denied to the hardy 
men who have gone to the northland and made their 
homes in Alaska. The Alaskans want Territorial gov- 
ernment. They want the right that every other Terri- 
tory in the Union had — the right to make their own local 
laws, to levy their own local taxes, to regulate their own 
internal affairs, and to spend the money gathered by the 
tax collector for their own use, for their own schools, 
for their own charitable institutions, for their own mu- 
nicipal affairs, for their own trails and roads, and for 
their own peace and happiness. This is not asking too 
much. It is a fundamental right. 

Alaska is entitled to local self-government. She has 
a population at the present time of upward of 60,000 
bona fide citizens. It is true they are scattered over a 
vast territory, but it is also true that they are an honest, 
brave, intelligent, sober, God-fearing people who are our 
kin, and who ought to be treated as American citizens. 

Alaska is one-fifth the size of the United States. Here 
is the map of Alaska. Look at it. Study it. If you 
take this map in actual area and put it on the map of the 
United States proper, one part of Alaska will be in the 
Atlantic Ocean opposite Charleston; another part of 
Alaska will be in the Pacific Ocean opposite San Fran- 
cisco ; another part of Alaska will be in the Gulf of 
Mexico south of New Orleans ; and another part of 
Alaska will be in Canada north of the Great Lakes. Peo- 
ple have no conception of the vastness of this territory, 
and there has been disseminated throughout this country 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 279 



for several years past more misinformation regarding 
Alaska and her resources and her people than about any 
other matter of public moment in the recent history of 
our country. 

Let us examine this map. This part of Alaska is 
called southeastern Alaska ; this part of Alaska is called 
southwestern Alaska; and this part of Alaska is called 
northern Alaska. These divisions marked on this map 
are the natural divisions of Alaska. Nature made them. 
Congress can not change them. In a straight line from 
Cape Chacon, in southeastern Alaska, to Point Barrow, 
in northwestern Alaska, is about 3,000 miles. In a 
straight line from Cuba to Greenland is less than 3,000 
miles, and there is nearly as much difference in the cli- 
matic conditions in Alaska on the Pacific coast as there is 
between Cuba and Greenland on the Atlantic coast. The 
climate of our Atlantic coast is governed to some extent 
by the Gulf Stream. The climate on the Alaskan coast 
is governed almost entirely by the wonderful Japan cur- 
rent, and the influence of that inexplicable current is 
much greater than the Gulf Stream. Southeastern 
Alaska has a mild climate winter and jammer. The 
mean temperature at Sitka is the same as the mean tem- 
perature at Washington, D. C. Southwestern Alaska has 
a climate similar to the climate of southern Canada. 
North of the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean Alaska 
has a cold climate in winter and a hot climate during the 
short summer months. Southeastern Alaska is com- 
posed largely of beautiful islands. It is a mineral and a 
fishing country, rich now, and destined to become more 
so. Some of these islands in southeastern Alaska are 
heavily timbered with pine, spruce, hemlock, and red 
and yellow cedar. 

The timber resources of these islands in southeastern 
Alaska are invaluable, and thus far they have never 
known the sound of the woodman's ax. They are virgin 
forests. The fishing industries in southeastern Alaska 
are becoming the greatest in the world. According to 
the Government report, there are over 30 different kinds 
of food fishes, and only last summer the United States 
Fish Commission boat, the Albatross, found the habitat 



28o SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



of these fish on the great banks off the coast of Alaska — ■ 
the home of the salmon and the halibut and the herring 
and the mackerel, This part of Alaska will furnish for 
years and years to come enough food fish to supply the 
wants of the people of the United States. Southeastern 
Alaska will never be an agricultural country, because it 
is too mountainous. It has no valleys and no rivers, but 
it has an ideal climate, and it is going to be the sports- 
man's and the poor man's and the sick man's paradise. 
It is a saying up there, "That when the tide is out the 
table is set," because no poor man need go hungry in 
southeastern Alaska unless he wants to do so. He can 
live on the products of the sea. 

Southwestern Alaska, from the international boun- 
dary line to the Aleutian Islands, is a wonderful country 
and quite different from southeastern Alaska. This part 
of Alaska is rich in mineral wealth ; incomparable in its 
possibilities for cattle and agriculture, and part of it is 
well timbered and exceedingly fertile. There are great 
valleys in this part of Alaska — the Copper River Valley, 
the Susitna Valley, the Yetna Valley, the Tanana Valley, 
and the Valley of the Kuskokwim — all awaiting develop- 
ment. It is estimated that in this section of Alaska there 
is at least half as much coal as there is in all the rest of 
the United States, and w T ithin its confines are the greatest 
cattle and sheep ranges under the American flag. Here 
is the land for the immigrant. Here is the place for the 
home-seeker. In these valleys are vast stretches of arable 
lands much greater in area than some of the States of 
the Union; and this part of Alaska alone, it is said by 
those who are competent to testify, can support a people 
larger than the population of Norway and Sweden and 
Finland and Denmark combined. 

Look again on the map. On the hills here in south- 
western Alaska are great cattle ranges, and here in abun- 
dance grows what is called buffalo grass — -grass that 
stands 5 or 6 feet high, rich in saccharine matter ; and 
the cattle graze out here all the year without protection 
from the weather. It is a superior country for cattle 
grazing to anything in our Xorthern States. They have 
no blizzards, and the winters, although cold, have very 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 281 



little snow, and the climate is dry and invigorating. Cat- 
tle graze there all the year round, and they are fatter and 
in better condition in the spring than they are in the 
fall. What a country for the cattlemen ! 

Alaska north of the Yukon is a vast country, stretch- 
ing away from the Yukon River to the Arctic Ocean. 
This part of Alaska has very little timber. It is a barren 
land and essentially a mining country. It is rich in min- 
eral resources, in copper, and gold, and tin, and coal, and 
various other kinds of minerals. This part of Alaska will 
always be sparsely inhabited by a migratory population, 
by people who go there to mine, and when the mines are 
worked out they will come away. 

Southwestern Alaska, however, is destined in the next 
25 years to have a permanent agricultural and cattle- 
raising population, and the day will come when this part 
of Alaska will contain and sustain several millions of 
people. It has now a permanent population of thousands 
who have gone there and been there for many years, 
many of whom were born there and they intend to stay 
there. Mark what I say, the day will come when south- 
eastern and southwestern Alaska will be States in this 
Union. 

Alaska's production of mineral wealth is growing* 
apace. The mineral production for 191 1 is estimated at 
$20,370,000, of which $17,150,000 was gold. The gold 
production of 1910 amounted to $16,128,749. The cop- 
per output is estimated at 22,900,000 pounds in 191 1, 
against 4,241,689 pounds in 1910. Alaskan mines and 
quarries also produced silver, tin, coal, marble, and gyp- 
sum to an estimated value of $390,000, an increase of 
$200,000 over 1910. The total value of Alaska's min- 
eral production since 1880, when mining first began, is, 
in round numbers, $206,000,000, or more than 29 times 
the sum paid to Russia for the Territory. 

Mr. Speaker, I have spoken of Alaskan resources as 
a reason for her recognition. Her mines of gold, silver, 
iron, coal, tin, and copper, already known to be great, 
are considered by many practically inexhaustible. She 
has the largest stamp mill in the world at Treadwell and 
bids fair to become the greatest gold-producing country 



282 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 
m 

on earth. The rapid development of the gold and silver 
mining industry of Alaska during the past few years is 
shown by the fact that the production has advanced from 
about $3,000,000 in 1896 to about $17,000,000 in 1910. 
This will increase rather than diminish. At present the 
value of the precious metals lies chiefly in the gold pla- 
cers of Nome and the interior regions. In the Nome 
region some 5,000 square miles are known to carry aurif- 
erous gravels, while in the Yukon Basin the area of 
auriferous gravels is probably several times as large. 
But it is not all placer mining. Gov. Clark says that 
quartz mining is the kind in which Alaska will be pre- 
eminent in the near future and that even now it is af- 
fording the finest illustration in the world of profitable 
working of low-grade ores. 

In the coast region of southeastern Alaska mining for 
gold, copper, and silver has been going on for a number 
of years. The development of this industry has been 
especially rapid since 1898, and it promises to become one 
of the most important mining districts of the country. 

The discovery of vast copper deposits in Alaska was 
made only a few years ago. Copper mining is now being 
done in several districts, and many tons of copper ore 
are being shipped weekly to the smelters. The investiga- 
tions of the past two years have shown, however, that 
there are unquestionably vast undeveloped copper de- 
posits in many other districts of Alaska. The coal of 
Alaska embraces lignites, bituminous, and anthracite. 
Coal has been found in nearly every part of Alaska, both 
on the coast and in the interior. The coal is so widely 
distributed that it must be regarded as one of its most 
important resources. It is a conservative estimate to 
place the area occupied by the coal-bearing rocks at 
30,000 square miles. Accurate statements can not be 
made as to the figures of the fish industry for the year 
191 1, but it can be said that it has been continually grow- 
ing and is still in its infancy. More than 30 varieties of 
food fish inhabit the Alaskan waters. The output of 
salmon now amounts to more than $15,000,000 a year. 
Alaska can feed the fish-eating people of the v/orld. 

Considering the resources and the vast possibilities of 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 283 



Alaska — and all of these statements can be proved by 
records on file in the various departments of the Gov- 
ernment — considering, I say, what is absolutely known, 
and which can not be successfully controverted, I stand 
here as a Representative of the people on the floor of the 
American Congress and ask why Alaskans should not 
have the right to govern themselves ? Why they should 
not have home rule? Why they should not have a Ter- 
ritorial government ? I pause for a reply in the negative. 

No true American can deny Alaska home rule. No 
patriotic citizen will object to the Alaskans having a 
local legislature and the right to make their own local 
laws. Under the terms of this Territorial bill each of 
these four divisions indicated on this map will have two 
representatives in the senate elected by the people, and 
four representatives in the assembly elected by the people, 
and the cost of this local self-government will be so in- 
finitesimal in comparison to the great wealth that Alaska 
is pouring into the American Treasury that we shall 
hereafter wonder why Alaska was denied for so long 
local self-government. 

Mr. Speaker, I have been to Alaska several times. 
I know something about that vast domain. I know some- 
thing about the sentiments of the people who live there, 
and I stand here and declare that the people of Alaska 
want Territorial government ; and, knowing the facts as 
I do, I unhesitatingly say, and I defy successful refuta- 
tion, that under all the circumstances Alaska is now, and 
long has been, entitled to Territorial government, and 
Congress ought to give it to the Alaskans without any 
more delay. Alaska is an anomaly in the history of our 
Territories. I know that the people of Alaska are, in 
every point of view, abundantly capable of maintaining 
a local form of government such as has always hereto- 
fore been accorded the Territories of the United States, 
and I deprecate the idea of further burdening the Con- 
gress with purely local legislation, as it is the duty of 
the Delegate to press upon the attention of Congress 
in the absence of Territorial organization. In my opin- 
ion, such legislation can safely be intrusted to the people 
of Alaska themselves, and, in my judgment, this bill pro- 



2S4 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



viding for the same should be passed, according to her 
people the measure of self-government to which they are 
justly entitled, and which has never heretofore, except in 
the case of Alaska, been withheld from any considerable 
body of American citizens engaged in the settlement of a 
new district. 

For years the people in Alaska have been asking for 
this boon. For years it has been wrongfully denied them. 
At last it appears to me, if I am any judge of popular 
opinion, that the Alaskans are going to get Territorial 
government by a practically unanimous vote in this 
House ; and when this bill passes, as I hope it soon will, 
the Senate will pass it and the President will sign it. 
Then half the Alaska problem will be solved, many of her 
troubles will be reduced to a minimum, and Alaska will 
grow and prosper more in the next few years than she 
has in all the sad years of the past. 

Mr. Speaker, in addition to Territorial government 
Alaska needs two other very important things. One is 
— better lighthouse service — more navigation lights. We 
do nothing like as much for our vast Territory of Alaska 
as the Canadian Government does for British Columbia. 
From Cape Chacon, Alaska, down to the State of Wash- 
ington is all Canadian territory, called British Columbia. 
Along this coast is the inside passage, going to and com- 
ing from Alaska. All the ships from Puget Sound that 
go to southeastern Alaska and many of the vessels that 
go to southwestern Alaska take this inside passage, and 
for scenic beauty, for recreation, for health, and for 
pleasure it is the grandest waterway on all this earth. 

The inside passage through Norway to the North Cape 
and the inside passage through the Straits of Magellan 
combined are not as grand and as beautiful as the inside 
passage from Puget Sound to the head of the Lynn 
Canal, a distance on water as calm as a mill pond for 
more than a thousand miles. People who have traveled 
all over the world, who have seen all the wonders of na- 
ture, hold their breath in silent admiration when they see 
the scenic wonders of the inside passage to Alaska. As 
a panorama of changing scenes of grandeur it is glorious 
beyond description. Thousands and thousands of tour- 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 285 



ists make this trip every summer. Yet our Government 
is derelict in that it does not furnish for Alaska proper 
lights and lighthouses to safeguard navigation and pro- 
tect life and commerce along our Alaskan shores. Every 
year there are two or three wrecks ; every year there are 
lives lost, and all for want of navigation safeguards. 

We are standing to-day in the shadow of one of the 
greatest marine disasters in all history. The tragedy of 
the Titanic appalls us. We are speechless in the presence 
of this awful catastrophe. More than a thousand lives 
went down into the depths of the sea with hardly a mo- 
ment's warning when the Titanic struck. The horror 
of it all is indescribable. The people of the world mourn. 

But every ship that makes this trip through the inside 
passage to and from Alaska is loaded with human freight, 
tourists, health seekers, pleasure seekers, our friends, 
our relatives, and our neighbors, and for lack of proper 
safeguards is liable to strike a hidden rock, or run upon 
an iceberg, or collide with a sister ship in the fog. It is 
criminal for the Government to neglect longer the in- 
stallation of proper lights on the Alaskan coast. 

Alaska has a tremendous coast line. The coast line 
of the United States on the Atlantic, on the Gulf, and on 
the Pacific is a little less than 8,000 miles. Our coast 
line in Alaska, from Cape Chacon around to Herschel 
Island in the Arctic Ocean, is over 20,000 miles. Yet for 
thousands of miles of that bleak and dangerous coast we 
have not a light, nor a safeguard to navigation. This is 
a crying need, and I hope the Committee on Appropria- 
tions will heed the insistent demands of the Lighthouse 
Board and make substantial appropriations in the future 
to give Alaska better lights along her coasts. 

Mr. Speaker, another important thing the people of 
Alaska need is better transportation facilities. How 
shall our people settle in AJaska when they can not get 
around on land in that vast Territory? It is almost as 
difficult for people to travel in Alaska without transpor- 
tation facilities as it is to journey on the Atlantic Ocean 
without a boat. Give Alaska decent transportation and 
you will find that our people in the United States will 
not be selling their farms in Iowa, in Minnesota, and in 



286 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



the Dakotas and taking their families, their money, and 
their possessions and going to Canada. They will go to 
Alaska. But they can not get around there now, because 
Alaska has very little transportation except water trans- 
portation. We have no transportation in southwestern 
Alaska save one railroad running from Cordova up to a 
copper mine. Alaska wants more dirt roads an$ more 
railroads through this great country. 

Look at the map again. Here is Resurrection Bay in 
southwestern Alaska — one of the great harbors of the 
world. All the fleets of the Pacific can ride safely at 
anchor in this magnificent bay and be invulnerable to 
attack. It is the greatest natural harbor we own in the 
north Pacific. 

If anything should happen to our North Pacific Fleet 
it would have no port to make nearer than San Fran- 
cisco, or Pearl Harbor, in the Hawaiian Islands. The 
fleet could not succeed in getting through the Straits of 
Juan de Fuca. Resurrection Bay is 1,800 miles nearer 
the Orient than either San Francisco or Paget Sound, 
and it is the best place in the north Pacific for this Gov- 
ernment to have a naval base and a harbor of safety in 
case of emergency on the north Pacific Ocean. 

The people of the United States, for their own wel- 
fare, should build a railroad from Resurrection Bay to 
the interior of Alaska to open the Tanana Valley, the 
Susitna Valley, and the wonderful Kuskokwim Valley. 
Then the people who leave our country to better their 
condition will go to Alaska and settle there. They will 
go up there and cultivate the ground and till the soil. 
They will develop the agricultural resources of the coun- 
try. They will take advantage of the cattle ranges and 
produce enough meat to supply the wants of our people. 
They will produce mineral wealth beyond the dreams of 
avarice. A Government railroad from Resurrection Ba}/ 
to the Yukon, opening up these wonderful valleys, would 
also develop the greatest coal deposits on this continent 
— the Matanuska coal fields. 

Here are millions of acres of the finest anthracite coal 
on earth, and of the best bituminous coal in the world. 
The Government could pay the expenses of operating the 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 287 



railroad every year by mining its own coal for the use 
of the Pacific Fleet. 

The United States buys its coal at Newport News and 
transports it all the way around South America. It 
transports that coal in foreign ships, flying foreign flags, 
and manned by foreign seamen. Every year the Gov- 
ernment pays for the coal for its Pacific Fleet and the 
Revenue-Cutter Service on the Pacific coast a sum of 
money amounting to millions of dollars. If that money 
was ultilized to build this railroad it would pay a profit 
to the Government the first day it was in operation, and 
in 10 years would pay the Government back every dollar 
it will cost, and be one of the quickest agencies to help 
the people open up this wonderful country of Alaska. 

We ought to do something for Alaska. It is a shame 
the way Congress treats Alaska. It is un-American, 
undemocratic, and unrepublican. It is a violation of the 
fundamental principles of American citizenship. I cry 
out against governing Alaska like a conquered province. 
I have done all I could for Alaska since I have been a 
Member of Congress, and I shall keep up the fight for 
the right until the people of Alaska get what they want, 
what they demand as American citizens — namely, Terri- 
torial government, better transportation facilities, and 
more safeguards to navigation. 

Mr. Speaker, every newspaper in Alaska is in favor 
of this bill for Territorial government. The Democrats 
and the Republicans in the Alaska conventions recently 
held have unanimously passed resolutions in favor of it. 
There is not a man in Alaska to-day, in my judgment, 
who is a bona fide resident of Alaska and who intends 
to stay there and live there, who is not in favor of Terri- 
torial government. If anyone here doubts what I sa) , 
let him go to Alaska and find out for himself. 

I am in favor of the pending bill. It is a meritorious 
measure. It will soon be a law. I want to congratulate 
the chairman and the Committee on the Territories for 
bringing in this bill. I have gone over it carefully. Take 
it all in all, it is a good bill. I am the first man in Con- 
gress that ever introduced a bill to give Alaska a Terri- 
torial government. I introduced the bill 10 years ago 



288 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



at the request of a. nonpartisan convention held by the 
people of Alaska. The presiding officer of that conven- 
tion was Hon. A. P. Swineford, formerly governor of 
Alaska — a great man and a great Alaskan. He has gone 
to his reward, and he has gone into history as Alaska's 
"Grand Old Man." He was my friend and he helped me 
draw that first bill for Territorial government for Alaska, 
I am sorry that dear old Gov. Swineford is not living to- 
day to witness Alaska's triumph in Congress. It would 
gladden his heart more than anything that ever hap- 
pened in his long and useful and illustrious career. I 
fought for that bill year after year. When Tom Cale 
came to Congress from Alaska I gave him the bill to in- 
troduce. When Judge Wickersham succeeded Cale he 
took up the bill, and I want to commend the Judge for 
all he has done in this struggle for home rule for Alaska. 

Mr. Speaker, just a few words in conclusion. I re- 
peat now what I said at the beginning — Alaska is the 
wonderland of the world. Xo words can adequately de- 
scribe it. It is the poor man's and the rich man's and 
the sportsman's paradise. Alaska is the natural art gal- 
lery of the earth. The time, in my judgment, is at hand 
when this vast territory will be developed by American 
genius, American capital, and American enterprise, and 
take my word for it, there will be no more prosperous 
section in all our progressive country for American 
brawn and American brain. Alaska is the place for the 
new settler — for the hustler — for the man who wants to 
go ahead and get on. Alaska wants her rights ; she 
wants home rule ; she demands Territorial government. 
Alaska wants this ; Alaska must have it — Alaska with her 
increasing population of patriotic people ; Alaska with her 
invigorating climate ; Alaska with her beautiful scenery, 
her magnificent distances, her snow-capped mountains, 
her majestic rivers, her fertile fields, her great industries 
of fish and fur and timber; Alaska with her great agri- 
cultural possibilities ; Alaska with her immense wealth 
in gold and copper and silver and lead and tin and iron 
and coal — mineral wealth beyond the dreams of the most 
imaginative person in the world ; Alaska with her brave 
and loyal and God-fearing American citizens; Alaska 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 289 



with her churches and her schools, her splendid public 
institutions, her towns and her villages; Alaska under 
the wonders of the northern lights and in the shadow of 
the midnight sun; Alaska with her inspiring sights, her 
ancient glaciers, with her great harbors and innumerable 
lakes and countless cascades ; Gentlemen, in the name of 
all these and more that I have not time now to enumer- 
ate, I ask in the name of justice why the Alaskans should 
not have the right of local self-government ? 



ON IMMIGRATION. 



Speech of Congressman William Sulzer at Cooper 
Union Mass Meeting,, Monday Night, May 6th, 
1912, to Protest Against the Pending Immigra- 
tion Bills in Congress. 

Mr. Sulzer said : 

I am opposed to the pending bills of Congress seek- 
ing to further restrict immigration. They all contain an 
educational test, and that is not a true test for desirable 
immigration. 

I am now, and always have been, opposed to the 
educational test as a means of restricting immigration. 
In my opinion it is the poorest kind of a test, and will 
exclude desirable immigrants and admit undesirable im- 
migrants to the United States. For years in Congress 
and out of Congress I have consistently opposed the 
educational test as a means of restricting immigration. 
I see no reason now to change my position. 

Why an educational test ? Illiteracy is not a crime ; 
it is a misfortune. No immigrant should be punished 
by exclusion from our hospitable shores simply because 
he cannot read and write — especially when it is not the 
poor immigrant's fault. The fact that an immigrant 
cannot read and write is conclusive evidence to my mind 
that the immigrant is justified in leaving the country of 
his birth, because that country does not afford proper 
facilities for popular education. 

Because a man cannot read and write is not his fault ; 
it is the fault of the country in which he was born and 
reared. I have known many honest, hard-working, in- 
telligent people who could not read and write. They 
came to America, became naturalized, and made good 
citizens. But I have never known of a crook coming 
from abroad who could not read and write. 



290 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



291 



Experience has demonstrated the fact that, with the 
educational facilities afforded in this land, thousands of 
illiterates, who, unhappily, were denied educational op- 
portunities in their native lands, have learned to read 
and write here ; and have shown an eagerness to acquire 
knowledge and fit themselves to become good citizens. 
It will also be noted that the exceptions provided in the 
bills are not broad enough to fully guard against the 
separation of families, though it is admitted that on hu- 
mane and moral grounds separation of families should, 
as far as possible, be avoided and prevented. In my 
opinion, the desirable immigrant is the healthy law abid- 
ing worker, who comes to this country in good faith, and 
the undesirable immigrant is the clever educated schemer, 
who, immediately upon his arrival begins to find fault 
with our free institutions. 

It has been our boast since the days of Roger Will- 
iams, Lord Baltimore and William Penn that this coun- 
try was the refuge for the oppressed. On that senti- 
ment, in large part, has been built up our national idea 
of free America, and because of that sentiment, we have 
attracted here the ambitious of every nation. The free 
and unrestricted immigration of the able-bodied has not 
injured our country in the past, but has helped it, and 
the maintenance of our shores as an asylum for the op- 
pressed has made us an example for liberty everywhere 
and a continued menace to tyranny. 

We cannot afford, after our emphatic success as ex- 
ponents of liberty and freedom, to adopt at this time any 
restrictive measure based upon an avowal of our belief 
that lack of opportunity to read and write is a crime ; nor 
can we afford to close our doors to fugitives from op- 
pression and injustice still unfortunately existing. 

An educational test to restrict immigration is anjust, 
inequitable and misdirected. Illiteracy is neither conta- 
gious nor incurable. Ability to read is no proof of either 
health or character. Many illiterate persons are vigor- 
ous, honest and of sound judgment in the affairs and 
the conduct of life. In all races the criminals come from 
the classes that can read and write, and not from the 
illiterate. A test founded on ability to read and write 



292 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



will not keep out the criminals, and will furnish no safe 
guide in action to the officers charged with the execution 
of existing laws. 

Why let in the crook and the undesirable man be- 
cause, forsooth, he can read and write, and debar the 
honest desirable man because he cannot read and write? 
The question answers itself. The whole proposition is 
too absurd for serious discussion. I am against such 
unjust and ridiculous legislation. I shall do all I can to 
prevent such bills being enacted into laws. 



SPECIAL ARTICLE CONCERNING MR. SULZER 
FROM THE "NATIONAL MAGAZINE" FOR 
MAY, 1 91 2. 

Constituents in city districts are seldom as close to 
their Congressmen as the people through the sparsely 
settled regions, where it is "Jim" or "Jack" or "Bill," and 
where a real friendship exists between the legislator and 
his following. One city Congressman whc has a real, 
old-fashioned constituency is Hon. William Sulzer, of 
the Tenth District of New York. In his response to the 
greetings and complimentary speeches of his friends from 
all over the State and country at the recent dinner ten- 
dered to him in the Cafe Boulevard, New York City, he 
paid a splendid tribute to these constituents, whom he 
truly called "friends." His address, delivered in the 
earnest, straight-from-the-shoulder manner that has made 
William Sulzer beloved, will long be preserved by his 
constituents as the eloquent, the honest, the simple pro- 
fessions of a legislator whose record backs the spoken 
word with a tablet of pure gold. The speech is a gem 
and a classic. 

"My friends," he said — "and I say 'my friends' ad- 
visedly, because here assembled are the best friends I 
have in all this world — I cannot tell you how much I 
appreciate all you have said about me, and how much I 
owe you for all you have done for me. 

"I am grateful to you all — each and every one — and 
gratitude is the fairest flower that sheds its perfume in 
the human heart. 

"I feel how undeserving I am of much of the praise 
we have heard to-night. I dread praise more than blame. 
If I have done aught to justify this public recognition of 
your appreciation, the credit is yours — the praise is yours 

293 



294 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



— because all that I am politically I owe to you for the 
confidence you have reposed in me by electing me to 
Congress from this grand old tenth district for nine 
consecutive times. 

"When it was proposed to give a dinner in my honor 
I said frankly I was opposed to it, as I wanted no thanks, 
or anything else, for doing my duty. My frieiMs, how- 
ever, went ahead regardless of my opposition, and I 
finally reluctantly consented to be present only on the 
conditions : first, that the dinner should be simple in 
character and reasonable in price so that all could at- 
tend; secondly, that it should be held in some place in 
the Congressional District in which I live, and among 
the people wdio have been so loyal to me for so many 
years ; and thirdly, that it should be entirely nonpartisan. 
The conditions have been religiously fulfilled. 

"The wisest of the ancients declared that a man was 
rich beyond the dreams of avarice if he could count, in 
fortune and in misfortune, his true friends on the fingers 
of one hand. You are all my friends, and I know 
whereof I speak, for I have tested your friendship in 
sunshine and in storm. Had I the fingers of five hundred 
men, I know I could not count on them the friends I 
have in this Congressional District. According, then, to 
the wisdom of the ancient philosopher I am, indeed, rich 
— -if not exactly rich in dollars — yet in something better 
— something dollars cannot buy — true, real, sincere 
friends. 

"To my friends — to those who really know me — my 
life is a simple one, an earnest one, and an open book. I 
believe the secret of all success is hard work, loyalty to 
friends, and fidelity to principle. 

"The aim of life is happiness, and I have found that 
the best way to be happy is to make others happy. In a 
few words, to be unselfish, to be liberal in your views, 
to have few prejudices, and those only against wrongs to 
be remedied. To be kind, to be true, to be honest, to be 
just, to be considerate, to be tolerant, to be generous, to 
be forgiving, to be charitable, and to love your neighbor 
as yourself. To adhere tenaciously to fundamental prin- 
ciples for good and for righteousness. To help others, 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



295 



to do what yen can day in and day out for those we meet, 
to make the hearthside happier; and to do your part 
faithfully, regardless of reward, for the better and the 
grander and the greater civilization. To be, so far as 
possible, like Jefferson in your belief in the plain people ; 
and to be, so far as is possible, like Lincoln in your love 
for liberty 10 one and all. 

''Those who know me best know that I stand as firm 
as a rock in a tempestuous sea for certain fundamental 
principles — for political liberty and for religious free- 
dom ; for constitutional government and equality before 
the law ; for equal rights to all and special privileges to 
none; for unshackled opportunity as the beacon light of 
individual hope, and the best guarantee for the perpetuity 
of our free institutions : and for the rights of American 
citizens, native and naturalized, at home and abroad. 

"I am not narrow-minded; I have no race or political 
or religious prejudice. I am broad in my views. I am 
an optimist. I believe in my fellow-man, in the good 
of society generally, and I know that the world is grow- 
ing better. I stand for humanity and declare with Burns 
— a man is a man to me for all that. 

"And so, my friends, in conclusion I thank you one 
and all again, and I assure you if I live, that in the fu- 
ture as in the past I shall, to the best of my ability, re- 
gardless of consequences, fight on for truth, fight on for 
justice, fight on for real progress, fight on for humanity 
— fight on for the cause that lacks assistance, against 
the wrongs that need resistance, for the future in the 
distance, and the good that I can do/' 



FROM THE NATIONAL MAGAZINE 



FOR APRIL, 1 9 12. 

SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THIS MAN 

SULZER. 

By Mitchell Mannering. 

When Hon. William Sulzer entered the public service 
a quarter of a century ago, he modestly announced a de- 
termination to do his whole duty. During his busy career 
he had undertaken everything with zest and spirit, and 
he declared his legislative duties revealed to him a life 
work. He was content to serve an apprenticeship when 
he took his oath in the House of Representatives, thor- 
oughly mastering the details and routine of legislation 
before he became an active factor therein. There was 
no blare of trumpets ; but able, energetic work in the 
drudgery and routine of committee rooms and on the 
floor of the House soon brought him prominence and 
distinction, just as it does to the boy working in the 
factory, who starts at the bottom, with dreams of doing 
things to earn and merit promotion. 

If there ever was a bundle of enthusiasm, William 
Sulzer is that package of humanity. With his steel blue 
eyes and sandy hair, whose long forelock is always stray- 
ing over his left temple ; quick-motioned and vivacious, 
yet self-contained and sagacious, he is the picture of 
energy, enthusiasm and practical progressiveness. With 
a frank and enthusiastic manner he wins friend after 
friend on first meeting, and it is no wonder that William 
Sulzer, as the ranking Democratic Congressman in the 
party service from the North, won his laurels as Chair- 
man of the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House 

296 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 297 



and made good. While he represents a normally Repub- 
lican district in New York that has never been carried 
by any other Democrat since 1892, and has long been 
acknowledged as a party leader in his State, he has never 
been so much of a partisan as to forget that a large pro- 
portion of his constituents are Republicans. For nine 
terms he has served them well, and no member of Con- 
gress is more respected and beloved by his constituents. 
The tradition prevails in the tenth New York district, 
that "Old Bill Sulzer" can continue to serve in Congress 
as long as he likes, because he stands for a spirit of 
progress and civic righteousness that is free from all 
pretense and is exemplified in results. With common- 
sense, good nature, a square and sincere manner, free 
from all the subtle intrigue and trickeries of politics, he 
goes right ahead and never forgets that work counts in 
public life. Every day, and every hour of the day, finds 
him at work. No one ever accused William Sulzer of 
passing many idle moments ; and, while modest as to his 
achievements, he has a record of which any veteran in 
or out of Congress may well be proud. 

He was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1863, com- 
ing of good old Scotch-Irish and German ancestry. His 
father, who had been a student at Heidelberg, came to 
America during the political disturbances of 1848. From 
his parents, William Sulzer has inherited that love of 
freedom and constitutional government that has been 
reflected in his public career. Graduating from a gram- 
mar school in 1877, he attended lectures at the Columbia 
College Law School, and then launched into his profes- 
sion as if he intended to find that rung of the ladder 
which Daniel Webster located at the top. 

William Sulzer was intended for the Presbyterian min- 
istry, but his admiration for the law claimed him for the 
latter profession, and his hard-fought battles in the 
courts and on public questions soon brought him recog- 
nition as an eloquent public speaker. He was one of the 
prominent campaign orators in the memorable Cleveland 
campaign in 1892. His public career was launched by his 
becoming a member of the New York Assembly, where 
he served five terms and attained prominence as speaker 



298 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



in 1893, and the leader of the Democratic minority in 
1894. All the newspapers seem to have a good word to 
say for Congressman Sulzer because of his broad views 
and impartial service. As the youngest Speaker of the 
Lower House of New York, he enjoyed a picturesque 
distinction, and during his administration the legislature 
made a record of the lowest tax budget in forty-seven 
years in the Empire State. He has left on the statute 
books a record of substantial reform legislation that is 
directly for the interests of the people. After his legisla- 
tive career in Albany he resisted ail temptations to cross 
the portals of the State Capitol as a lobbyist, for William 
Sulzer seems never to have entertained that desire for 
money w T hich has undermined the careers of many able 
and otherwise good men. Although he has given the 
best years of a busy life to the public, he remains just as 
poor to-day as when he entered the public service twenty- 
odd years ago. But he is rich in the high regard of his 
constituents. 

Elected Congressman from the Tenth District of New 
York in 1894, his service has been conspicuous for its 
championship of popular rights. It was his challenge of 
Spanish cruelty that rang out in the House of Representa- 
tives for the Cuban cause in 1898; it was his bill that 
created the Department of Commerce and his initiative 
that provided for a Department of Labor, making the 
first federal classification of labor ever attempted. It was 
his voice that boldly championed the cause of the Boers 
with a resolution of sympathy that awakened world-wide 
attention. It was through Congressman Sulzer's long 
and persistent fight that the remains of the Maine were 
raised and a decent burial insured to the heroes who for 
many years reposed at the bottom of Havana Harbor. 
For ten years Sulzer never relaxed in his efforts, and it 
must have been a source of satisfaction to him when the 
final ceremonies were enacted which resulted in the ob- 
literation of the grim spectacle in Havana Harbor and 
proved the justice of the cause that led to the Spanish- 
American War. Sulzer's eloquent plea in the House to 
"Remember the Maine" met with a hearty response. 

He said: "Have we, forsooth, so scon forgotten the 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



Maine ? Should not every prompting of patriotism impel 
us to remember the Maine and forever clear the sky of 
history, and accomplish that which would be a credit to 
our patriotism and an act of gratitude to our heroic 
dead." 

When on Saturday, March 16, 1912, surrounded by 
American and Cuban warships and vessels laden ,with 
sympathetic officials and tourists, the wreck of the Maine, 
a great iron coffin covered with flowers, sank into an 
abyss of the Caribbean, six hundred fathoms below sea 
level, Representative Sulzer must have rejoiced greatly, 
for he had seen "the end crown the work." 

Another patriotic proposition of Sulzer's was the move- 
ment to make Columbus Day a legal holiday. He also 
launched a movement to reorganize the army, and to 
create a Department of Transportation. As the ranking 
Democrat on the Committee on Military Affairs and the 
Committee on Patents, he has led in many an effective 
debate and incorporated his convictions into laws. A 
cursory glance at the Congressional Record reveals that 
he has led in many battles on the floor of the House 
for the equal rights of "the plain people." He has been 
a delegate to all the Democratic National Conventions 
since 1896 and has long been recognized as one of the 
great leaders of national prominence within his party. 
As a type of that energetic young American school of 
wide-awake, alert men who do things, he makes friends 
wherever he goes, and, what is better, keeps his friends. 
For several years his name has been prominently men- 
tioned as candidate for Governor of New York, and he is 
now prominent among the so-called dark horses of the 
Presidential candidates for the Democratic nomination 
with all of the qualifications and none of the shortcomings 
of most of the other aspirants. Sulzer can carry States 
in the North and West, it is said, that no other Democrat 
can carry, 

While he does not wear the badge of a reformer, Con- 
gressman Sulzer has reformed many things along prac- 
tical reform lines and stands for the broad, liberal and 
eternal principles of genuinely Democratic government. 
He trusts the people, he has never lost faith in humanity, 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



and is a good deal of a philosopher, stoic in his endur- 
ance and epicurean in his geniality and hopefulness. No 
man has ever been a more implacable foe to monopoly, 
unjust taxation and organized greed; but he never in- 
dulges in political theatricals, and his every action shows 
him to be free and independent. 

There is something old-fashioned about William Sul- 
zer and his hearty affection for his friends. His steel- 
blue eyes look right at you, but they are not unfriendly, 
and you can see his soul looking for yours, with no 
thought of deception or purpose of guile. He has the 
stand of a soldier, and that brings to mind again the 
Spanish- American War, when he organized a regiment 
of volunteers, but for political reasons it was not called 
into active service. Two of his younger brothers, how- 
ever, a captain and a lieutenant, died in the Philippines 
in the service of their country. 

The political record of the Tenth District in New 
York reveals William Sulzer as one candidate who has 
never been defeated. It must be gratifying to run thou- 
sands of votes ahead of a party ticket, even in the years 
when the party vote was on the slump. When his dis- 
trict went fifteen thousand for McKinley, Sulzer carried 
it by five thousand, and when Alton B. Parker lost the 
district by over ten thousand, Sulzer carried it by over 
seven thousand. There is something in his busy activity 
that appeals to his constituents, because he has given 
them service. 

He is a prominent member of the Masonic body, o£ 
.he Arctic Brotherhood and of nearly every other known 
organization in his district, for Sulzer is a "joiner." 

His record of five years of public service at Albany 
includes thirty-two distinct laws, of which he was the 
author and which he wrote and carried through the 
New York legislature, every one of which entitled him 
to a mark of credit. His record in the House of Repre- 
sentatives since 1894 includes twenty-five distinct bills of 
which he was the author. His supreme triumph was 
when, as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, 
with characteristic vigor and level head, he secured in a 
marvelously short time the abrogation of the Russian 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 301 



treaty of 1832. It was handled in such a manner as not 
to occasion international complications, because of the 
simple and direct way in which his resolution was 
worded. Russia was asked to accede to what all other 
countries in the world have conceded according to the 
Act of 1868, giving every naturalized citizen of the 
United States the privileges of an American citizen, and 
to obliterate the old custom of 1832 which had it that, 
"once a Russian subject, always a Russian subject. " 
Upon this occasion Sulzer rose above all inclination to 
play politics and earnestly enlisted in an effort to assist 
the State Department in bringing about a new treaty in 
harmony with the spirit of the times. 

The Congressional Record at times fairly sizzles with 
Sulzer paragraphs. Some of his short speeches are gems 
of oratory. There is on record an eloquent speech in de- 
fense of colored soldiers, and Sulzers voice was raised 
on every occasion in the cause of the defenseless. 

Air. Sulzer's work is constructive — not destructive. He 
is a builder — not a destroyer. The reorganization of the 
consular service was one of the first matters he took up 
as head of the Committee on Foreign Affairs. In line 
with this he introduced a bill for the improvement of the 
foreign service along the lines of the Lowden Bill. In 
colloquy and debate on the floor he is ever ready to pro- 
mote and defend the many measures which have made 
his Congressional records prolific during the past six- 
teen years. His outbursts of sentiment have the right 
ring. When he arose in the House and insisted that 
there was nothing in the gift of the nation too great for 
the men who saved the Republic; that there was due 
them a debt of gratitude that could never be paid and 
that could not be measured in dollars and cents, he made 
a plea for old soldiers not soon to be forgotten. He in- 
sisted that a nation's gratitude is the fairest flower that 
sheds its perfume in the human heart, and that patriotism 
is indeed the noblest sentiment that animates the soul ot 
man. He is the idol of the old soldiers. 

With all the enthusiasm characteristic of his previous 
work Congressman Sulzer has taken up the restoration 
of the American merchant marine. He calls attention 



3Q2 SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 



to the lamentable fact that the registered tonnage of the 
ocean-carried trade of the United States in 1910, with a 
population of ninety millions, was four hundred thou- 
sand tons less than it was in 18 10 — a century ago. Then 
the American flag was found in the deep-sea trade of the 
world. His belief is that this can be restored by pref- 
erential duties, avoiding the prejudice against ship sub- 
sidies or free ships. He has introduced a bill providing 
for preferential duties, which was a policy successfully 
in operation in this country up to 1828, when it is be- 
lieved foreign interests interfered and occasioned the 
suspension of this Act, which had done much to build 
up the prestige of the young Republic on the high seas. 
He feels that the objection brought forward that this 
would interfere with some of our present commercial 
treaties is not tenable. His bill is short and right to 
the point, and in no way attempts or admits a makeshift. 
It states the proposition in Sulzer's characterisic way — 
in plain, terse English. He earnestly believes that with 
preferential duties, the pre-eminence of American mer- 
chant marine would soon be re-established. He insists 
that the magical effect of preferential duties existing be- 
tween 1792 and 1828 occasioned the greatest advance- 
ment ever made in the development of American mer- 
chant marine. 

The bill for the improvement of the Foreign Service 
introduced by Mr. Sulzer in the House of Representa- 
tives in February last is designed to carry on the work 
outlined in former Executive Orders. The Sulzer Bill is 
in harmony with the recommendations of the President 
and of the Secretary of State, also embodying the princi- 
ples for which the commercial organizations of the coun- 
try have been contending for years. It has enlisted the 
earnest support of the State Department itself ; and this 
is a most favorable indication, indeed, when we find a 
measure of international importance meeting with gen- 
eral support, irrespective of party lines, under the en- 
thusiastic leadership of William Sulzer, the able, the elo- 
quent, and the patriotic Chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Affairs. 

To review the work of Congressman Sulzer one must 



SULZER'S SHORT SPEECHES 303 



come in contact with an immense volume of public docu- 
ments extending over twenty-five years, for his career 
has been one of ceaseless activity. His work is keyed 
to the pace of modern and progressive statesmanship ; 
and, while he may not always win an agreement on his 
ideas and policies, none can gainsay the earnest convic- 
tions of William Sulzer. He has given for years to his 
constituents of the Tenth District, to the people of the 
State of New York, and to his country the best that 
he can do every day of the week, every week of the 
month and every month of the twenty-odd years which 
he has rounded out with a public career which has 
brought to him a grateful appreciation from the district, 
the State and the Nation, which he has so ably served 
with uncompromising, high-minded patriotic convictions. 



0£ILVI£S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 

A Gentleman from 
Mississippi 

A novel founded upon the play off the same name* 

Bound in cloth, stamped in colors which makes one of the raoSt 
attractive books of the year. 

Price, 50 cents, net; postage 10 cents additional. 

Full off AMERICAN Interest, AMERICAN Ideas, 

AMERICAN Politics and AMERICAN Honesty 

c£ e£ dt 

5enator Langdon is picked out by dishonest men in Washington 
to be used as their tool in the Senate. But the "tool M proves to 
be sharp at both ends and cuts the men who mean to cheat the 
people. 

Honesty attracts honesty, and Langdon, the honest man, draws 
to hisside as his secretary, ' 'Bud' ' Haines, one who is as shrewd as 
the dishonest senators, who planned to use the planter Langdon. 

One of Senator Langdon' s daughters, in love with one of the con- 
spirators, tries to blacken the name of her father and his secretary. 
But the plot fails, and Langdon, the good-natured man from 
Mississippi, proves more than a match for all the rascality in 
Washington. 

Just how Langdon accomplishes his ends is one of the most in- 
teresting parts of the book — and even Langdon himself doesn' t know 
how he is going to win out until the last moment — then he wins by 
simple honesty. 

Needless to say there is the love story throughout the book of 
ic Bud " Haines, the secretary, and the senator's daughter. 

A Book of Real Character. 

A Book of Interest 

A Book of Instruction 

SENT BY MAIL, POSTAGE PAID, FOR 60 CENTS. 
You can buy this at any bookstore or direct from us, 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
57 Rose Street, New YorR 



QGILYIE'3 POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 




A Novel 

Founded upon GEORGE BROADHURST'S play 

The Man of the Hour 

Handsomely bound in cloth and stamped in colors, containing 250 pages, 
with twelve illustrations from the play 

Price 50 cents, net, postage 10 cents additional 

It has been issued under the title of THE NEW MAYOR, 
in order not to conflict with a book published under the title, 
The Man of the Hour. 

Thousands of people have not had the opportunity of seeing the 
play, and to them, as well as to those who have seen it, we desire to 
announce that we are the authorized publishers of the Story of 
George Broadhurst's Piay in book form. There is already an enor- 
mous demand for this book, owing to the fact that the play is meet- 
ing with such a tremendous success, having been presented in New 
York for over six hundred consecutive performances, with four 
companies on tour throughout the United States, 

The play has received the highest praise and commendation 
from critics and the press, a few of which we give herewith; 



"The best in years."— A r . Y. Telegram. "A perfect success." — N. Y. Sun. 

"A triumph." — A T . 5 . America?i. "Best play yet." — N. V. Commercial. 

"A sensation."— A''. Y. Herald. "An apt appeal."— A r . Y. Globe. 

44 A straight hit."— A'. Y. World. "A play worth while."— N. Y. News. 

"Means something." — N. Y. Tribune. "An object lesson." — N. Y. Post. 

This novel is a strong story of politics, love, and graft, and appeals 
powerfully to every true American. 

SENT BY MAIL, POSTAGE PAID, FOR 60 CENTS. 
Be sure to get the book founded on the play. 
You can buy this at any bookstore or direct from us. 



S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY 
57 Esse Street, New YorK 



"THE MAN IN THE STREET 
STORIES 

from 7/?eJVeivJfork Times 



"MAN IN THE STREET" STORIES. 

From «• The New York Times," 

4.2m,®. 320 pages* Cloth Bound, $2,00, With an, in* 
traduction by Chawicey M. JJt>pew 9 who says of thems 

"This collection of stories is my re- 
fresher every Sunday after the worr^ 
and work of the week, I know of no ef- 
fort which has been so sucoessf ul in col* 
lecting real anecdotes portraying the 
humorous side of life as this volume/ 5 
it is prepared with a complete indes 
which increases its value very much. 
Bead what reviewers all over the 
country say of the hook : 




With introduction by 

CHAUKCEY mdepew 



"It is a great collection, end the reading 
of it is a treat. "—Salt Lake Tbxbune. 

"The kind of a book we call a s capital 
thing.' Its humor i3 of the best flavor."— 
Minneapolis Times. 

44 Is well worth the consideration of alio"— 
Pboyidence Jouenal. 

M Warranted to amuse."— Boston Jouenal. 

" Probably no book of its kind excells this one."— Deteoit Fees Pbess, 

"The anecdotes are exceptionally entertaining, full of humor, wit and 
Wisdom, and may be read with genuine pleasure."— St. Louis Bepublxo. 

"Full of good things."— Philadelphia Inquieeb. 

"Senator Depew savs a true thing in commending the character and 
quality of the book."— Cleveland Leadeb. 

08 We cannot deny its attainment of success."— Baltimobe Sun. 

"A collection of the utmost use for those who wish to use bright jest 
and modern anecdote."— Chicago Daily News. 

"Every after-dinner speaker should be thankful for the publication 
In hook form of the 4 Man in the Street Stories.' "— Spbingpield Sunday 

ULPUBLICAN. 

69 They will make the reader laugh."— Bupfalo Expeess. 

14 This work is useful in more ways than one."— Richmond Dispatch, 

ca Will be useful to all who are in quest of stories to illustrate points 
m dinner table exploits."— Beooklyn Eagle. 

54 The story teller need never run short as long as he has this volume 
to consult."— Philadelphia Pbess. 

Constitute a very mine of material for both the political "amraign 
and the social circle. Always interesting,"— Pittsbueg Index- Appeal. 

65 The average merit of these stories is so high, that the prize winning? 
stories are little, if any, better than the others."— Chicago Inteb-Ccean. 

" Indispensable to a properly selected library."— St. Paul Globe. 

Bent by mail, postpaid, to any address upon receipt of 
price, 75 cents* Address all orders to 



J. S. OGILVIB 



PUELISEDT 



i* COUP ANY, 
SET, 2TEW Y0E3 



OGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



THE MYSTERY OF THE RAVENS- 
PURS. By Fred n. White. A romantic 
tale of adventure, mystery and amateur 
detective work, with scenes laid in Eng- 
land, India, and the distant and compara- 
tively unknown Thibet. A band of mys- 
tics from the latter country are the prime 
movers in the various conspiracies, and 
their new, unique, weird, strange methods 
form one of the features of the story. 

THE FORGED COUPON. By Count 
Leo Tolstoi. This stoiy shows the suc- 
cessive evil and wrong resulting from the 
forging of a note by a student in need of 
money. Numerous crimes succeed each other as a result of 
this first wrong act, until the wave of crime is checked by a 
poor, ignorant woman and a lame tailor, who follow the real 
teaching of Christ. The book contains also After the Ball, a 
story of love and military life ; Korney Vastly ev, a story of 
peasant life ; Tolstoi's Vital Humanitarian Ideas, giving the 
very essence of the fountain-spring and incentive of all the 
literary work ever written by this wonderful man—a peep, as 
it were, at the power-works of his thinking machine. 

THE KREUTZER SONATA. By Count Leo Tolstoi. A 

book which has a world-wide reputation, in fact, the one that 
made its author famous, and one which eveiyone of mature 
years should read. The closing words of the book show the 
nature of the moral to be deduced : " Yes, that is what I have 
done, that is my experience. We must understand the real 
meaning of the words of the Gospel—Matthew V, 28— which 
relate to the wife, to the sister, and not only to the wife of 
another, but especially to one's own wife." The moral lessen 
to be learned is plainly visible, and its solution is the solution 
of the " higher mind." 

ANNA KARENINE. By Const Leo Tolstoi. Another story 
by this famous Russian, depicting the trials and temptations 
that beset a young woman, showing the development of charac- 
ter under trying ordeals and circumstances. Second only to 
the author's Kreutzer Sonata, for his perfect understanding of 
the impulses that govern the relations of the sexes. 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cioth. 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANY 
57 Rose Street, New York 




OGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



TfiE FORTUNES OF BETTY. By Cecil Spooner. Love, 
romance, pathos, sympathy, martial spirit, reverence, action 
—all have their place and a share in the success-making and 
attention-holding qualities of Miss Spooner' s novel. It is a 
story of a small-town girl, who strives to keep the honor of 
the family name intact, and who by her ability, ready wit, and 
bravery, succeeds in overcoming the machinations of rich and 
powerful enemies. The admiration and reverence due the Stars 
and Stripes, and those who fought under them, is graphically 
depicted; and Betty's difficulties in winning the love of the 
man upon whom her affections are bestowed are admirably set 
forth. It is pure in thought, tender in motive, and true to the 
higher ideals of life and love. Price, 60 cents, postpaid, 

THE CONFESSIONS OF A PRINCESS. 

The writer has taken a page from her life 
and has given it to the world. She has 
laid bare the soul of a woman, that some 
other woman (or some man) might profit 
thereby. Her disposition and character 
were such as to compel her to find else- 
where than in her own home the love, ten- 
derness, admiration, and society which 
was lacking there, and which her being 
craved. The names have been changed 
and such events omitted as might lead too 
readily to the discovery of identities. 
Each the victim of a circumstance over 
which they had no control, yet the. price is demanded of the one 
who fell the victim of environment. The Confessions of a 
Princess is the story of a woman who saw, conquered and ielL 

'WAY DOWN EAST. By Joseph R. Grisnier. One of the 

sweetest stories of New England life ever written ; one full of 
the love and tenderness made possible by honest Christian living 
among pure, whole-hearted, and broad-minded country folks. 
This book is founded upon the play, which, with ever-increasing 
popularity, has been presented so often to the American public. 
Over 300,000 copies of the book have been sold. Have you read 
it? If not, why not get it now? Price. 60 cents, postpaid, 

ONE HUNDRED DOG STORIES; or, Dogs of All Nations. 

This collection of stories grew naturally out of a child's demand 
for more, and still more, stories about dogs. They teach a 
strong moral lesson of love, honesty and fidelity. 76 illustrations. 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth. 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 

J. S. OQILVIS PUBLISHING COHPANY 

57 Rose Street, New York 




GGILVEE'S POPULAR COPY YT LINE 



TKE DEVIL. By Fereoc Holnar. A strong, moral book, 
showing in a vivid, realistic manner the result of evil thinking. 
The Devil in this story is evil thinking materialized. It deals 
with the early love of a poor artist and a poor maiden. As the 
years go by the artist achieves distinction, and the maiden 
becomes the wife of a millionaire merchant — with very 
little romance in his composition, but thoroughly devoted to 
his young and beautiful bride. Seven years later the artist 
(who has been received as a valued friend of the family) is 
commissioned to paint the wife's portrait— and the old love 
reasserts itself. For a while the issue is problematical ; but 
stability of character conquers, and the ending is quite as the 
heart would wish. Price, ^60 cents, postpaid. 

THE "MAN IN THE STREET 
STORIES." From The New York 
Times, with an introduction by Chaun- 
cey M. Depew, who says of them: "This 
collection of stories is my refresher 
every Sunday after the worry and work 
of the week. I know of no effort which 
has been so successful in collecting real 
anecdotes and portraying the humorous 
side of life as this volume." It is pre- 
pared with a complete index, which in- 
creases its value very much. Read 
what reviewers ail over the country 
say of the book : 

" It is a great collection, and the reading of 
it is a treat."— Salt Lake Tribune. 

"The kind of a book we call a 'capital 
thing. 9 Its humor is of the best flavor."— 
Minneapolis Times. 

"Warranted to amuse."- Boston Journal. 

" Probably no book of its kind excells this one."— Detroit Free Press. 

"The anecdotes are exceptionally entertaining, full of humor, wit and 
wisdom, aud may be read with genuine pleasure."— Louts Republic. 

"Full of good things."— Philadelii/iia Inquirer. 

NATHAN HALE, The Hartyr Spy. By Chas. W. Brown. 

This is a story of the American Revolution, founded upon the 
play of the same name, upon a subject which will never grow 
old as this brave man's name will go down in history as a hero, as 
a martyr, whose famous saying, " My only regret is that I have 
but one poor life to give to my country," is world-wide known. 
Price, 50 cents, postpaid. 

The above books are library size, printed oh excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth* 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



THE MAN liN THESTREET 
STORIES 

from TxeA'eicT/ork 7Tmes 










'. 










W/tfz introa'act/cn by 

CHAUNCEY M.DEPEW 



J..S. OQILVIB PUBLISHING COHPANY 

57 Rosa Street, New York 



OQILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LIN2 

ie— ir r-" 1 "" 111 i n in ii i ii mi ii nullum h i p iiwiiiwiiiiiiiiiw iimiiiiiw i—iiimmm_— 



^FOHA GORDEYEV." By Maxima Gorky. This book- 
made Gorky's literary reputation in Russia, Germany and 
France. It is a most remarkable novel. The New York 
Evening Post says : 

"Maxime Gorky, the young Russian poet of the vagabond and the 
proletariat, the most ardent worshipper at the shrine of Nietzsche and his 
ideal 'Over-Man,* owes much of his sudden popularity to his personality. 
The son of a poor upholsterer, Gorky was thrown upon his own resources 
at the age of nine, and since then has experienced a wide range of human 
emotions, struggles, depravity and misery. Shoemaker, apple peddler, 
painter, dock-hand, railroad workman, baker and tramp, this unique 
author had a thousand and one similar occupations, and had even made 
more than one attempt to take his own life." 

This version of Foma Gordeyev, is in no way abridged, giving the 
exact reproduction of the thought and expression of the author. 

THE SEVEN WHO WERE 
HANGED. By Leonid An- 
dreyev. What reviewers say : 

"Andreyev is greater than Poe— 
greater for his truth if not for his 
art."— St. Louis Mirror. 

" It is by reason of its art even more 
real, more horrifying, more impress- 
ive than any other Russian fiction 
translated in a long time. Under the 
crystal simplicity of Andreyev's style 
each spirit reveals itself, stripped of 
its bodily covering, in its inmost 
truth."— New TorJc Times. 

" Grewsome, because it is fearfully 
real. But it is compelling for the 
same "reason." — New YorTc World. 

"You rise from the book with a 
shudder— which is a tribute to its 
power— and with the firm conviction 
that capital punishment is a crime — 
another tribute to its author's genius." — Kentucky Post. 

" It is not a mere morbid probing into the abormal and horrible. It has 
its mission. It is a grim and terrible picture, and it is painted with tre- 
mendous art^-the art of a Dore."— Chicago Inier-Ocean. 
Price, 60 cents, postpaid. 

THE SHORT CUT. By G. Elliott Flint. A novel of tense, 
palpitating, throbbing, passionate life and love, with scenes laid 
around New York's ' ' Great White Way," setting forth the con- 
flicting tendencies of good and evil, worldly desire and control 
of self. The magnetism of sex is the pivot on which the world 
revolves. The truth is inevitable. Why close our eyes to facts ? 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth. 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



X S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANM 

57 Rose Street, New York 




OGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



RESURRECTION. By Count Leo Tolstoi. It depicts wi'ii 
a master hand the ocean of life rocked by storm and lulled to 
sleep and ease. In the splash of every wave is heard the story 
of human emotions, misery, disenchantment, suffering, crime, 
and life, that is true— even in art. Nekhludov, the centra! 
figure, is a powerful, unfathomable stroke of artistic genius. 
He is not always a hero— he is a man— hence heir to weakness 
and temptation. Passion runs wild in him. The beast, the 
flesh, triumph over the spirit. In wine, women, and corruption 
he forgets the victim of his crime, and were it not for an 
almost improbable coincidence, his soul, his : conscience, would 
never awaken. But he becomes a new man ; and it is the 
telling of this which gives Resurrection its power. 

THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER. 
By Florence Warden. A wonderful 
story of mystery and romance, one in 
which, to the reader's mind, every 
character in the book is guilty until 
the end is reached. Read what the 
reviewers say of it : 

"Florence Warden is the Anna Katharine 
Green of England. She apparently has the 
same marvelous capacity as Mrs. Rohlfs for 
concocting the most complicated plots and 
most mystifying mysteries."— N, Y. Globe, 

" The interest of the story is deep and 
intense."— Salt Lake Tribune. 

" The author has a knack of intricate plot- 
work which will keep an intelligent reader 
at tier books, when he would become tired 
over far better novels. For even the 4 wisest 
men 9 now and then relish not only a little 
nonsense, but as well do they enjoy a thrill- 
ing story of mystery. And this is one— a dark, deep, awesome, compelling 
if not convincing tele. 99 — -Sacramento Bee. 

THE WORLD'S FINGER. By T. W, Kanshew. It is a 

scientific theory that the retina of the eye of a dying person 
will retain the impression, or photograph, as you might call it, 
of any object that it rests upon if seen at the instant of death. 
The World's Finger is a detective story in which this theory 
plays a prominent part. A lawyer wrote us stating that he 
never before read a book in which the chain of convicting 
evidence was so complete, but in which the suspected criminal 
was finally found innocent. 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth. 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



as* 



THE HOUSE 
j RIVER 




FLORENCE WARDEN 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANY 
57 Rose Street, New York 



GGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



m i ARSENE LUPIN, Gentleman Burglar, 

and ARSENE LUPIN versus HERLOCK 
SfiOUlES. By Maurice Lebianc. Mau- 
rice Leblanc can be compared only to A. 
Conan Doyle. With Sherlock Holmes one 
is each time facing a new robbery and a 
new crime. With Arsene Lupin we know 
in advance he is the guilty one. We know, 
that when we shall have unravelled the 
tangled threads of the story, we shall find 
ourselves facing the famous Gentleman 
Burglar. But with the aid of processes 
which the most adept are not able to 
fathom, the author holds your attention to the very end of each 
adventure, and the dramatic termination is always the unex- 
pected. Arsene Lupin does not steal, he simply amuses him- 
self by stealing. He chooses, at need he restores. He is noble, 
charming, chivalrous, delicate. Thief and burglar, robber 
and confidence man, anything you could wish, but so sympa- 
thetic—the bandit ! If you appreciate skill, ability, resourceful- 
ness, and a battle between master-minds, do not fail to read 
these two books. 

A GENTLEMAN FROM MISSISSIPPI. A novel founded 
upon the play of the same name. 
Senator Langdon is picked out by dis- 
honest men in Washington to be used 
as their tool in the Senate. But the 
'•tool" proves to be sharp at both 
ends and cuts the men who mean to 
cheat the people. Honesty attracts 
honesty, and Langdon draws to his 
side as his secretary "Bud" Haines, 
one who is as shrewd as the dishonest 
senators, and together they prove 
more than a match for all the rascal- 
ity in Washington. Just how Lang- 
don accomplishes his ends is one of 
the most interesting parts of the book 
—and even Langdon himself doesn't 
know how he is going to win out until the last moment—then 
he wins by simple honesty. Price, 60 cents, postpaid. 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth. 

Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANY 
57 Rose Street, New York 





GOILVIB'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



THE PEER AND THE WOMAN. By E. Phillips Oppec- 
fceina. A story of romance, mystery, and adventure, in which 
a peer of England, notwithstanding his breeding and social 
position, becomes entangled with a scheming adventuress, until 
he is mysteriously put out of the way. From this point on com- 
plication and adventure succeed each other in rapid succession, 
holding the reader in rapt fascination to the end, where the plotj 
of love and mysterious disappearances are surprisingly unfolded. 

A HONK OF CRUTA. By E. Phillips Oppenheim. One of 
the stories that made the author famous. It is full of mys- 
tery, love and adventure, and from the first chapter, which is 
laid in a familiar and well-known monastery, to the last, the 
reader follows the characters with increasing interest. It is 
the kind of a book to take away over the holidays, or read in 
the evenings at home, as it has that "grip " which makes 
it a relaxation to read. It banishes care and trouble, and lifts 
you out of yourself by its strongly woven plot. 

THE NEW MAYOR. Founded upon 
George Broadhurst's Play The Man of the 
Hour, A strong story" of politics, love 
and graft, which appeals powerfully to 
every true American. The play has re- 
reived the highest praise and commenda- 
tion from critics and the press. 

"The finest play I ever saw." 

-Theodoee Roosevelt. 

"The best In years."— 2V. Y. Telegram. 
" A triumph."— JV. Y. American. 
"Asensation."—2V. Y. Herald. 
"Means something."— N. Y. Tribune. 
"Best play yet."— N. Y. Commercial. 
" A play worth while."— N. F. News. 
" A straight hit."— N". Y. World. " An apt appeal."— N. Y. Glooe. 

" A perfect success."— 2V. F. Sun. " An object lesson."—^. F. Post. 

Price, 60 cents, postpaid* 

WHITE DANDY, The Story of a Horse. By V. C. flelvilSe. 
Everyone interested in horses should read this charming story. 
It stands shoulder to shoulder with the famous book Black 
Beauty for pathos, heart interest and gentleness. If the two 
books above mentioned were read with all the attention which 
they should command, we would have less cause to complain 
w>f the cruelty to animals from brutal masters. Price, 50 
cents, postpaid* 

The above books are library si^e, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth* 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 



J. Sc OQILVIE PUBLISHING COJT1PANY 

S3 Ros© Street, New York 




OGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LINE 



THE EHPEROR'S CANDLESTICKS, 
By Baroness Orczy. A story of Nihilism 
and Russian Court intrigue, in which a 
powerful band of Nihilists v/ith strong 
Court connections have their most 
cherished plans frustrated through the 
miscarriage of one of their messages con- 
cealed in one of the candlesticks, the other 
candlestick bearing a message concerning 
a secret love affair of the Russian Em- 
peror. The complications which ensue 
keep the reader at a tense pitch of excite- 
ment, which is only assuaged when the 
story ends ; how, of course it would not be 
fair to say. The Baroness Orczy is sufficiently well known as an 
author, however, to guarantee a pleasurable and profitable book. 

THE SILENT BATTLE. By firs. C. N. Williamson. The 

battle in question is between a powerful, well-known multi- 
millionaire of London, and a beautiful, talented, charming 
young actress who rejects the approaches and attentions of the 
former. She is ably assisted in her fight for existence by a 
strong, handsome American, who is in London on a secret 
quest. Their paths meet, and they eventually work together 
against the common enemy. Honor, love, position, and a for- 
tune are the prizes of battle, and its fighting is told in the in- 
teresting way for which Mrs. C. N. Williamson is justly famous. 

THE TESTING OF OLIVE VAUGHAN. 
By Percy J. Breboer. A story of the 
stage showing the temptations to which 
every aspirant for theatrical fame and 
fortune is subject, and showing too, how, 
through right decisions and correct judg- 
ment based on inborn and developing 
strength of character one is able to rise 
superior to her surroundings and wrest 
a great success. This is not easy to 
accomplish, however, and its telling, 
which shows a fine literary style and un- 

uestioned powers of characterization and 

escription, is what makes the author one 
of the most popular among fiction writers of the present day. 

The above books are library size, printed on excellent 
paper, handsomely and substantially bound in cloth. 
Price, postpaid, 75 cents each, unless otherwise stated. 

J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANY 

57 Rose Street, New York 





Mysterious Martin. 

A psychological study of the develop- 
ment of character along unusual lines. 

BY 

TOD ROBBINS. 

12mo, cloth, with frontispiece. Price, $1.00, postpaid. 

0 0 0 

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY OF IT. 

"Is a book of horror, but is so well written and so cleverly 
conceived, that it should receive due credit. Its title character 
is a writer who excels Poe in describing horrors, and who be- 
comes more insane with each succeeding year until he kills him- 
self. Ke must see or experience every emotion he describes, and 
he has murdered and investigated murder so as to allow his 
genius full play in his writing and in the illustrating of his 
books. One of his books is so powerful that it causes an 
epidemic of murder in New York, and is suppressed by the 
government. The book has no lack of interest and its climax is 
brilliantly imaginative." — St. Joseph News Press. 

"A gruesome story with a touch of haunting mystery about 
it that holds one interested to the end. Not a pleasant yarn to 
read before going to bed." — Detroit Times. 

"A masterpiece of horror, yet, strange to say, not repellent." 
— Salt Lake City Herald-Republican. 

11 The horrible is exploited with such skill as will not suffer by 
comparison with that manifested in some of the short stories 
that Poe left to be regarded always as masterpieces of their 
kind .... so well done that one cannot condemn it because 
of the theme .... one is compelled to give praise for the 
treatment." — Albany Evening Journal. 

1 1 There is much of unusual merit, and more of prophecy in 
the present work of Mr. Robbins." — Columbus Dispatch. 

1 1 Gives the reader the shivers while admiring the ability of 
the author." — Duluth HeroJd. 

"Nervous people, if they are to read it at all, better read it 
right after breakfast, and certainly not in any one of the half- 
dozen hours previous to going to bed." — Utica Daily Press. 

0 0 0 

You can buy this at any bookstore or direct from us. 
Price, $1.00, postpaid. 

J. So OQILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

57 Rose Street, New York. 



What a Chance! 

You can always have a witty remark handy if you 
get our latest book entitled 

Reflections of a Bachelor. 

22mo 0 218 rages. 
To give you an idea of it we select tlie following ; 



A girl is never desperately 
in love with a man till she 

Eins something' he has given 
er to her nightgown. 

If you see what you want, 
don't ask for it. 

Next to teaching a girl to 
play whist, a man loves best 
to hold the cans while his 
wife puts up peaches. 

Every girl wants a man to 
know she wears pretty stock- 
ings, hut she doesn't want 
him to know she wants him 
to know it. 

No man ever refused to let 
his wife wear bloomers. No 
wife who cared what her hus- 
band said ever wanted to. 

The good live young. 

There is no zest for the 
Wickede 



A woman's idea of pleasure 
is to swing on the porch in a 
hammock in a white dress 
and watch her husband with 
his trousers rolled up setting 
out plants for her. 

Probably babies talk so 
funny because they are guy- 
ing their mothers. 

Nothing exceeds like ex- 
cess. 

A fad is something that 
makes the man who has it 
>y and everybody elss 



mad. 

When you meet a man of a 
shy, retiring disposition you 
may be pretty sure he used 
to recite pieces at all the 
church entertainments when 
he was little. 

Some men would rather 
lose a friend than a jack-pot. 



The authorship of the captivating "Beflections of a 
Bachelor" remains incog., but we are confident that the 
author is unmarried— because he knows so little. 

—The Teenton Times. 



| 66 Reflections of a Bachelor " is very clever work— because 
the author has been married these forty years. 

—The Los Angeles Hebald, 

This book will be sent to any address by mail, 
postpaid, on receipt of 50 cents for paper bound, and 
$1,00 for the cloth bound edition. 

J. g 9 ©GIL VIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 
F. 0. Box 787. 57 ROSE STREET, NEW YORK 



OGILVIE'S POPULAR COPYRIGHT LIKE 



Handsomely bound in doth and stamped in colors, 3J0 pages* 
printed on excellent book paper 

Price 50 cents, postage 15 cents additional 

A wonderful story of mystery and romance, one in 
which every character in the book is guilty, to the 
reader's mind, until the end is reached. 

WHAT THE REVIEWERS SAY OF IT 

" Florence Warden is the Anna Katharine Green of England. 
She apparently has the same marvelous capacity as Mrs. Rohlfs 
for concocting the most complicated plots and most mystifying 
mysteries, and serving them up hot to her readers.' ' — N. Y. Globe. 

"The interest of the story is deep and intense, and many 
guesses might be made of the outcome, as one reads along, with- 
out hitting on the right one," — Sail Lake Tribune. 

"The author has a knack of intricate plot-work w T hich will keep 
an intelligent reader at her books, when he would become tired 
over far better novels not so strongly peppered. For even the 
M wisest men" now and then relish not only a little nonsense, but 
as well do they enjoy a thrilling story of mystery. And this is one 
— a dark, deep, awesome, compelling if not convincing tale.'*- 
Sacramento Bee. 



You can buy this at any bookstore or direct from us. 




By FLORENCE WARDEN 



SENT BY MAIL, POSTAGE PAID, FOR 65 CENTS. 



J. S. 0G1LVIE PUBLISHING CdMPAMf 
57 Rose Street, New YorK 



A BOOK FOR CHESS LOVERS 



Cliess lovers "will be glad to know that we now 
have ready in book form one of the latest and best 
works on Cliess by the world's most famous chess 
player Emanuel Lasxee. 



Common Sense in 
Chess 

By Emanuel Lasker 

is the title of the book. It contains an abstract of 
the twelve lectures which the author gave before an 

o 

audience of chess players in London, England. It 
gives the various openings and methods of play as 
used by him, with examples of same fully illus- 
trated, all duly set forth as the result of the author's 
long and varied experience. 

Invaluable to those who desire to attain profi- 
ciency in chess, the greatest of games, the one game 
which demands the greatest reasoning and thought. 

The book contains 140 pages, fully illustrated, 
neatly bound in cloth. 

SENT BY MAIL, POSTPAID, FOR 75 CENTS, 



J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COHPANY 
57 Rose Street, New York 



A $10.00 BOOK FOR $1.50! 



MOORE'S 
UNIVERSAL ASSISTANT 

AND 

COMPLETE MECHANIC. 

CONTAINING 

Over One Million Industrial Facts. 

CALCULATIONS, PROCESSES, TRADE SECRETS, RULES, LEGAL 
ITEMS, BUSINESS FORMS, Etc., in every Occupation, from the 
Household to the Manufactory. 



A work of unequaled utility to every Mechanic, Farmer, Merchant, Business 
Man, Professional Gentlemen, and Householder, as it embraces the main points in 
over 200 Trades and Occupations. It contains 1016 pages and over SCO illus- 
trations. 

The following synopsis gives some idea of the value and scope of the work. 
The contents are as follows : 

Part 1.— Bread, Cracker, Pastry and Cake Baking, Domestic Cooking, etc, 
Part 2,— For Farmers, Horse Shoers, Stock Owners, Bee Keepers, etc. Part 3.— For 
Lumbermen, Carpenters, Builders, Contractors, Mill Owners, Shipbuilders, Ship 
Owners, Freighters, Navigators, Quarrymen, Merchants and Business men gener- 
ally. Part 4.— Natural, Mechanical and Scientific Facts. Part 5.— For Dyers, 
Clothiers, Bleachers, Hatters, Farriers and Manufacturers. Part 6 — Medical De- 
partment, for Druggists, Physicians, Dentists, Perfumers, Barbers, and general 
Family Use. Part 7.— For Grocers, Tobacconists, Confectioners, Saloon Keepers, 
Syrups, Cordials, Ice Creams. Summer Drinks, Domestic Wines, Canned Goods, 
Soaps, etc. Part 8. —For Tanners and Curriers, Boot, Shoe, Harness and Rubber 
Manufacturers, Marble and Ivory Workers, Bookbinders, Anglers, Trappers, etc. 
Part 9.— For Painters, Decorators, Cabinet Makers, Piano and Organ Manufacturers, 
Polishers, Carvers, Gilders, Picture Frame and Art Dealers, China Decorators, 
Potters, Glass Manufacturers, Glass Stainers and Gilders, Architects, Masons, 
Bricklayers, Plasterers, Stucco Workers, Kalsominers, Slaters, Roofers, etc 
Part 10.— For Watchmakers, Jewelers, Gold and Silversmiths, Gilders, fiumishers, 
Colorers, Enamelers, Lapidaries, Diamond Cutters, Engravers, Die Sinkers, Stencil 
Cutters, Refiners, Sweepmelters. Part 11.— For Engineers, Firemen, Engine 
Builders, Steam Fitters, Master Mechanics, Machinists, Blacksmiths. Cutlers, Lock- 
smiths, Saw, Spring, and Safe Manufacturers, Iron and Brass Founders, Mill 
Owners, Miners, etc. Part 12.— For Art Workers, Bronzing, Dipping, and Lacquer- 
ing, Brass Finishers, Hardware Dealers, Plumbers, Gas Fitters, Tinman and Japan* 
ners, etc. Part 13.— For Printers and Publishers, Gas Companies and Consumers, 
Gunsmiths. Contractors, Quarrymen, Coal Dealers, Oil Manufacturers, Sugar Refin- 
ers, Paper Manufacturers, Cotton aad Woolen Manufacturers, Cutlers, Needle and 
File Manufacturers, Metal Smelters, etc., etc. Part 14.— The Amenities of Life, 
Useful Advice. Part 15.— Tables, etc., Embracing Useful Calculations in every 
Business. 

Price, in Cloth Binding, §1.50 Sent by mail, postpaid, to any address, 
on receipt of price. Agents wanted, to whom we offer big pay. 
Address all orders to 

J. S. 0&ILVIE PUBLISHING- COMPANY, 

£ . 0. Box 767. 57 BOSE STBEST, NEW Y0B3L 1 




BLAKELEE'S INDUSTRIAL 

CYCLOPEDIA. 

A Ready Reference and Reservoir of 
Useful Information, 

In this book, by George E. Blakelee, a practical 
mechanic, and editor of a farmers' paper, seven 
hundred and twenty octavo pages are devoted to 
explaining clearly the easiest, most practical, and 
best way of doing every kind of work, mechanical 
and otherwise, that can be of nse in or about a city 
or village home, or on a large or a small farm. It 
not only treats fully of the nse and care of tools, 
and shows how to make and mend an endless 
variety of nsef ul articles, but also points ont how to 
do thousands of things not requiring tools, such as 
mixing paints, managing teams, caring for farm 
stock and poultry, storing hay, grain and vegeta- 
bles, harvesting a corn crop, caring for furs, 
leather, lamps and glass articles, butter and cheese 
making, pork packing, canning, preservings and 
the like, without end. 
Not only are the mechanic and householder thoroughly provided for, but 
matters c? use and interest to the farmer are treated at such length, that there 
seexns to be nothing in the wide range of his multifarious duties that the author 
cas overlooked. The housewife, too, has a department ot her own, where, among 
hundreds of other things, she Is taught the mysteries of bleaching and dyeing, the 
management of all kinds of fabrics ; how to make brackets, frames, tidies, rugs, 
mats and all kinds of knitted and fancy articles ; how to beautify her furniture, 
polish and renew table-ware, make soap, etc., etc. The boys and girls are also 
fully cared for. The former are shown how they can make their own hand-sleds, 
cages, traps and snares for birds and animals, rowboatg, apparatus for a home 
gymnasium and the like ; while the latter are instructed in making hundreds of 
ihose beautiful and useful articles which add so much to the adornment and 
convenience of home. 

The book is a substantial octavo volume of seven hundred and twenty 
pages, well printed on paper of Hue quality, fidly illustrated with over tico 
hundred engravings, furnished with a detailed table of contents and copious 
index, and handsomely bound. 

J* will be sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt of price, Price in heajy 
J*€Sj>er cover 9 $1,00; handsomely bound in cloth, $S.CO» 

Address all orders to 




J. S. OGILVIE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

67 EOSE STREET. HEW YOBK 



BO YOU WONDE 

how yonr neighbors and friends can afford to buy the things, do 
the things, and wear the clothes that they do ? Have you ever 
thought that it might just possibly be that they know more 
than you do? Don't imagine for an instant that because you 
are doing pretty well, that you can't do better still, for you can ; 
but in order to accomplish this you have got to know more 
than yon do now. 

We therefore desire to call your attention to the following 
book, filled with information you can utilize every day in the 
week, no matter what your occupation trade, or profession. 



DICTIONARY 



AND 



m WANTS. 



Containing 20,000 Receipts for Every Department of Human 
Effort. By A. E. YOUHAN, M. D. Royal Octavo, 
530 Pages. Price in Cloth, $2.00. 

PRSOE, \U PIPER DOVER, HEOUOEB TO $1.80. 

$100 a Year Saved to all who Possess and Read this Book! 



"No book of greater value was ever offered. The following 
list of trades and professions are fully represented, and informa- 
tion of great value given in each department : 



Clerks, 

Bookkeepers, 

Farmers, 

Stock-raisers, 

Gardeners, 

Florists, 

Builders, 

Merchants, 

Druggists, 

Photographers, 

Architects, 

Artists, 

Bakers, 

Confectioners, 

Engineers, 

Flour Dealers, 

Glass Workers, 

Hair Dressers, 

Hatters, 

Ink Makers, 



Lumber Dealers, 
Miners, 
Opticians, 
Whitewashers, 
Soapmakers, 
Trappers, 
Tinsmiths, 
Cabinet makers , 
Housekeepers. 
Bankers, 
Barbers, 
Inspectors, 
Bookbinders, 
Gilders, 
Painters, 
Shoemakers, 
Clothiers, 
Dressmakers, 



Dry Goods Dealers, Carvers, 
Brewers, Jewelers, 



Hardware Dealers, 
Engravers, 
Furriers, 
Glaziers, 
Grocers, 
Hotel Keepers, 
Iron Workers, 
Authors, 
Nurses, 
Perfumers, 
Roofers, 
Stereotypers, 
Tanners, 
Varnishers, 
Cooks, 
Builders, 
Dairymen, 
Carpenters,' 



Watchmakers, 

Dyers, 

Coopers, 

Coppersmiths, 

Machinists, 

Curriers, 

Doctors, 

Egg Dealers, 

Eiectrotypers, 

Fish Dealers, 

Gas Burners, 

Glove CleanerSj 

Gunsmiths, 

Hucksters, 

Lithographers, 

Milliners, 

Dentists, 

Plasterers, 

Scourers, 

Tailors. 



We have just issued a new edition of this valuable book, size 
inches, and 1% inch thick, containing 530 pages, printed 
on best quality of antique laid paper. "We will send a copy by 
mail, postpaid, to any address, upon receipt of $1.00 for the paper 
bound edition, or $2.00 for the cloth bound book. Agents wanted 
to whom we offer liberal terms. Address all orders to 

J. S. 0 GIL VIE PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



P. 0. Bos 767. 



57 ROSE STREET, NEW Y0RI 



Speech of 
Acceptance 




MdOA M3N '30VTd *UVd 1<T 01 (■ 
O SNIQNia V 3NI±N!Md NM0ij8 ' 



Speech of 
Acceptance 




Hon. William Sulzer 

DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE 
FOR GOVERNOR 

DELIVERED IN THE NATIONAL 
DEMOCRATIC CLUB, OF NEW 
YORK CITY, ON THE OCCASION 
OF HIS NOTIFICATION, THURS- 
DAY NIGHT, OCTOBER 10, 1912 



Mr. Sulzer spoke as follows 



Gentlemen — The nomination for Governor by the 
Democrats of New York is an honor deeply appreciated 
and the responsibilities entailed are fully realized. I 
thank the delegates to the Syracuse convention, and 
through them all the Democrats of the Empire State, 
whom they represented in that memorable gathering. 
With gratitude to all I accept the nomination — and 
gratitude with me is " the fairest flower that sheds its 
perfume in the human heart/' 

It is gratifying to me to know that my nomination 
for Governor comes from a free and an unfettered 
convention of independent delegates, elected according 
to law by the people, and that it has united and har- 
monized the Democratic party from one end of the 
State to the other. 

We are all together now, fighting for great funda- 
mental principles — in the interests of all the people. 
With our faces to the rising sun of Democratic oppor- 
tunity nnrlpr thp lpaHpr<;hin of nnr national standard- 




TI6I 4 0I >I3HOXDO 'XHDIN AVd 
-SHI1HX 'NOIXVDIdlXON SIH dO 
NOISVDDO 3HX NO 'AXID HtfOA 
do 'amD DIXVUDOKSa 
tv^noixvn 3hx ni araaAnaa 

HOMHSAoa mi 

jazins meui!M «0H 




industry and intelligence and patriotism ; they promote 
social intercourse, prevent intellectual stagnation, and 
increase the happiness and prosperity of our producing 
masses; they contribute to the glory of the city and 
the country, give employment to our idle workmen, 
distribute the necessaries of life — the products of the 
fields and the forests and the factories — encourage 
energy and husbandry, inculcate love for our scenic 
wonders and make mankind better and broader and 
greater and happier. 

The Truths of History. 

The plain people are familiar with the truths of 
history. They know the past. They realize that often 
the difference between good roads and bad roads is 
the difference between proiit and loss. Good roads 
have a money value far beyond the ordinary concep- 
tion. Bad roads constitute our greatest drawback to 
internal development and material progress. Good 
~^a„ nrAcnprnnc tarmpre • had mads mean aban- 



XiiOA M3 N '30VTd MUVd Z.C 01 tfr 



Pledges to the People 




Aid for the Farmers. 




Those who know me best know that I stand firmh 
for certain fundamental principles — for personal liberty 
for religious freedom; for constitutional governmeu' 
for equality before the law; for equal rights to ill ar 
special privileges to none ; and for unshackled oppc 
tunity as the beacon light of individual hope and t 
best guarantee for the perpetuity of our free insti 
tions. 

He Is an Optimist. 

I have no race or religious prejudices. I am charita 
in all my views. I am an optimist. I ha ^ sympau^ 
for all and know that good works constitute the most 
enduring monument. I believe in my fellow-men, ir 
the good of society generally, and I know that the worl 
is growing better. I believe in the old integrities, 
the new humanities, and declare with Burns — " A man 
a man for a' that." 

The people have no fears for Democracy. The Dei? 
cratic party will never die until the pillars of the 
public totter and crumble and liberty is no more, 
future is as secure as its past is glorious, and 
mate success in the struggle for equal rights 
be the crowning triumph of the progress o 
and the brightest page in the annals of hur* 

In conclusion let me reiterate what I ha 1 * 
before — I am a Democrat, unafraii. free 
and independent; and I have the > ourag< 
victions. I know my duty and dare i 
consequences. The past is secure, * 
future. My motto is onward with hoi 
out fear. 



A 



He Is an Opt 




★ 

Vote in the Circle 
Under the Star. 



